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TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED; 



OR. 



Experimental Religion, 

AS DISTINGUISHED FRO:>I FORMALITY ON THE ONE HAND, AHB 
ENTHUSIASM ON THE OTHER, 

SET IN A SCRIPTURAL AND RATIONAL LIGHT. 

3(n ttno Discourses ; 

IN WHICH 

SOME OF THE FRIXCIPAL ERRORS BOTH OF THE ARMIXIAXS AND AN- 
TIHOM1ANS ARE COXFUTED. . . .THE FOUNDATIOX AND SUPER- 
STRUCTURE OF THEIR DIFFERENT SCHEMES DE- 
MOLISHED ... .AND THE TRUTH, AS IT 
IS IX JESUS, EXPLAINED 
AXD PROVED. 

The whole adapted to the weakest capacities, and designed for 

the establishment, comfort, and quickening 

of the people of God. 



BY JOSEPH BELLAMY, D. D. 

LATE OF BETHLEM, CONNECTICUT. 



WITH A PREFACE EY THE REV, MR. EDWARDS, 



Isaiah xxx. 21.. ..And thine ears shall hear a vsord behind thee, saying, This 
h the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn 
to the left. 

Matthew vii. 13, 14....JEnter ye in at the strait gate ; for wide is the 

gate, and broad is the way that leadetb to destruction, and many there be 
which go in thereat : Because strait is the gate, and nai row is the way which 
leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 



BOSTON, PRINTED...1750. 

^ MORRIS-TOWN, 

RE-PRINTED BY HENRY P. RUSSELL 



1804. 



BXns30 



o fas & }*t 
So ** 



PREFACE. 



X HE being of GOD" is .reckoned the first, greatest, 

and most fundamental of all things that are the objects of 
Knowledge or belief ; and, next to that, must he reckoned the 
nature of that religion which God requires of us, and must be 
found in us, in order to our enjoying the benefits of his fa- 
vor : Orrather this may be esteemed of like importance with 
the other ; for it in like manner concerns us fcer know hew we 
may honor and please God, and be accepted of him, as it con- 
cerns us to know that he has a being. This is a point of infi* 
nite consequence to every single person ; each one having to 
do w T ith God as his supreme judge, who will fix his eternal 
state, according as he finds him to be with or xvithout true reli- 
gion. And this is also a point that vastly concerns the public 
interests of the Church of God. 

It is very apparent that the w r ant of a thorough distinction in 
this matter, through the defect either of sufficient discernment or 
care, has been the chief thing that has obscured, obstructed, 
and brought to a stand all remarkable revivals of religion which 
have been since the beginning of the reformation ; the very 
chief reason why the most hopeful and promising beginnings 
have never come to any more than beginnings ; being nipt in 
the bud, and soon followed with a great increase of stupidity, 
corrupt principles, a profane and atheistical spirit, and the tri- 
umph of the open enemies of religion. And from hence, and 
from what has been so evident, from time to time, in these lat- 

Iter ages of the church, and from the small acquaintance I have 
with the history of preceding times, I cannot but think, that if 
the events, which have appealed from age to age, should be 



IV 



PREFACE. 



carefully examined and considered, it would appear that it ha* 
been thus in all ages of the Christian Church from the beginning. 

They, therefore, who bring any addition of light to this great 
subject, The nature of true religion, and its distinction from 
all counterfeits, should be accepted as doing the greatest possi- 
ble service to the Church of God. And attempts to this end 
ought not to be despised and discouraged, under a notion that 
it is but vanity and arrogance in such as are lately sprung up 
in an obscure part of the world, to pretend to add any thing on 
this subject, to the informations we have long since received 
from their fathers, who have lived in former times, in New- 
Englaxd, and more noted countries. We cannot suppose 
that the Church of God is already possessed of all that light, in 
things of this nature, that ever God intends to give it ; nor that 
all Satan's lurking-places have already been found out. And 
must we let that grand adversary alone in his devices, to en- 
snare and ruin the souls of men, and confound the interest of 
religion amongst us, without attempting to know any thing 
further of his wiles than others have told us, though we see 
every day the most fatal effects of his hitherto unobserved 
snares, for fear we shall be guilty of vanity or want of modes- 
ty, in attempting to discern any thing that was not fully ob- 
served by our betters in former times ; and that, whatever 
peculiar opportunities God gives us, by special dispensations 
of his providence, to see some things that were over-looked 
by them ? 

The remarkable things that have come to pass, inlate times, 
respecting the state of religion, I think, will give every wise 
observer great reason to determine that the counterfeits of the 
grace of God's spirit are many more than have been general- 
ly taken notice of heretofore ; and that, therefore, we stand in 
great need of having the certain and distinguishing nature and 
marks of genuine religion more clearly and distinctly set forth 
than has been usual ; so that the difference between that and 
every thing that is spurious may be more plainly and surely 
discerned, and safely determined. 



PREFACE. v 

As enquiries of this nature are very important and necessa- 
ry in themselves, so they are what the present state of religion 
in New-England, and other parts of the British dominions^ 
do in a peculiar manner render necessary at this season ; and 
also do give peculiar opportunity for discoveries beyond what 
has been for a long time. Satan, transforming himself into an 
angel of light, has shewn himself in many of his artifices more 
plainly than ordinary ; and given us opportunity to see more 
clearly and exactiy the difference between his operations, and 
the saving operations and fruits of the spirit of Christ : And 
we should be much to blame, if we did not improve such an 
advantage. 

The author of the ensuing treatise has not been negligent of 
these opportunities. He has not been an unwary or undis- 
cerning observer of events that have occurred these ten years 
past. From the intimate acquaintance with him, which I have 
been favored with for many years, I have abundant reason to 
be satisfied that what has governed him in this publication, is 
no vanity of mind, no affectation to appear in the world as an 
author, nor any desire of applause ; but a hearty concern for 
the glory of GOD, and the kingdom and interest of his Lord 
and Master, Jesus Christ : And, that as to the main things 
he here insists on, as belonging to the distinguishing nature 
and essence of true religion, he declares them, not only as be- 
ing satisfied of them, from a careful consideration of important 
facts, (which he has had great opportunity to observe), and ve- 
ry clear experience in his own soul ; but the most diligent 
search of the holy scriptures, and strict examination of the na- 
ture of things ; and that his determinations concerning the 
nature of genuine religion, here exhibited to the world, have 
not been settled and published by him without long considera- 
tion, and maturely weighing all objections which could be 
thought of, taking all opportunities to hear what could be said 
by all sorts of persons against the principles here laid down, 
from time to time conversing freely and friendly with gentle- 
men in the Arminian scheme, having also had much acquaint- 



vi PREFACE. 

ance, and frequent and long conversation with many of the peo- 
ple called Separatists, their preachers, and others. 

And I cannot but express my sincere wishes, that what Is 
here written by this reverend and pious author, may be taken 
notice of, read without prejudice, and thoroughly considered: 
As I verily believe, from my own perusal, it will be found a 
discourse wherein the proper essence and distinguishing na- 
ture of saving religion is deduced from the first principles of 
the oracles of God, in a manner tending to a great increase of 
light in this infinitely important subject... .discovering truth, 
and, at the same time, shewing the grounds of it, or shewing 
what things are true, and also why they are true.... manifest- 
ing the mutual dependance of the various parts of the true 
scheme of religion, and also the foundation of the whole.... 
things being reduced to their first principles in such a manner, 
that the connection and reason of things, as well as their agree- 
ment with the word of God, may be easily seen ; and the true 
source of the dangerous errors concerning the terms of God's 
favor and qualifications for heaven, which are prevailing at this 
day, is plainly discovered ; shewing their falsehood at the ve- 
ry foundation, and their inconsistence with the very first prin- 
ciples of the religion of the bible. 

Such a discourse as this is very seasonable at this d^ay : And' 
although the author (as he declares) has aimed especially at 
the benefit of persons of vulgar capacity ; and so has not la- 
bored for such ornaments of style and language as might best 
suit the taste of men of polite literature ; yet the matter or sub- 
stance that is to be found in this discourse, is what, I trust, 
will be very entertaining and profitable to every serious and 
impartial reader, whether learned or unlearned. 

JONATHAN EDWARDS. 

Northamfttoriy August 4, 1750. 



THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE, 



"W E are designed, by GOD our maker, for an endkss existence, 
In this present life we just enter upon being, and are in a state introduc- 
tory to a never-ending duration in another world, where we are to be for- 
ever unspeakably happy, or miserable, according to our present conduct. 
This is designed for a state of probation ; and that, for a state of rewards 
and punishments . We are now upon trial, and God's eye is upon us eve- 
ry moment ; and that picture of ourselves, which we exhibit in our con- 
duce, the whole of it taken together, will give our proper character, and 
determine our state forever. This being designed for a state of trial, 
God now means to try us, that our conduct, under all the trials of life, 
may discover what we are, and ripen us for the day of judgment ; when 
God will judge every man according to his works, and render to every- 
one according to his doings. He does not intend, in the dispensations of 
his providence, to suit things to a state of ease and enjoyment, which is 
what this life is not designed for ; but to a state of trial : He puts men 
into trying circumstances of set purpose, and, as it were, contrives meth- 
ods to try them. One great end he has in view, is, that he may prove 
them, and know what is in their hearts. 

He did not lead the children of Israel directly from Egypt to Canaan, but 
first through the Red Sea, and then out into a wilderness, where there was 
neither water, nor bread, nor flesh ; and made them wander there forty 
years, that he might try them, and prove them, and hncw what was in their 
hearts.... T> tut. viii. 2. So, when the christian religion was introduced in- 
to the world, it was not in such a way as men would have chosen, but in 
a manner suited to a state of trial. The Son of God did not come in 
outward glory, but in the form of a servant — not to reign as an earthly 
prince, but to die upon the cross : And his apostles made but a mean ap- 
pearance in the eyes of the world ; and that sect was every where spoken 
against, and persecuted ; and many were the stumbling-blocks of the 
times : And these things were to try the temper of mankind. And when 
christian churches were erected by the indefatigable labors of St. Paul 
•and others, that God might thoroughly try every heart, he not only suf- 
fered the wicked world to rise in arms against them, but also let Satan 
loose, to transform himself into an Angel of Light, and, as it were, to in- 
spire, and send forth his ministers, transformed into the apo^les of Christ, 



viii the author's preface. 

to vent heretical doctrines, and foment strife and division. In the mean 
while, the secure and wicked world looked on, pleased, no doubt, to see 
their debates and divisions, and glad they could have such a handle against 
Christianity, and so good a plea to justify their infidelity : And God de- 
lighted to have things under circumstances so perfectly well adapted to a 
state of trial. He loved to try the apostles, to see how they would be af- 
fected and act ; when not only the world was in arms against them, but 
many of their own converts turned to be their enemies too, by the influ- 
ence of false teachers. He loved to try private christians, to see how 
their hearts would be affected towards the truths of the gospel, and the, 
true ministers of Christ, and towards their temporal interest, while the 
truths of the gospel were denied or perverted, and the true ministers of 
Christ despised and stigmatized by heretics, and their temporal interest 
exposed to the rage of a wicked, merciless world : Andhe loved to try hyp- 
ocrites, to see whether they would not renounce the truth they pretended so 
highly to value, and become disaffected towards the ministers of Christ they 
seemed so dearly to love, and follow false teachers, or fall off to the world. 

It is reasonable and fit, and a thing becoming and beautiful, that beings 
in a state of probation should be tried; and God looks upon the present 
outward ease and comfort even of his own people, as a matter of no im- 
portance, compared with things spiritual and eternal. Eternity, with all 
its importance, lies open to his view ; and time appears as a point, and 
all its concerns as things comparatively of no worth. If the wicked 
are in prosperity, and the righteous in adversity, or all things come alike 
to all, God is well pleased, because things of time are of so little impor- 
tance, and because such an administration of things is suited to a state of trial. 
There will be time enough hereafter for the righteous to be rewarded, and 
the wicked punished. In this view of things, we may, in a measure, un- 
derstand the darkest, and account for the most mysterious, dispensations 
cf divine providence, and discern the wisdom of the divine government. 

It has doubtless appeared as a thing strange and dark to many pious 
persons, and occasioned not a little perplexity of mind, to observe what 
has come to pass in Kev>- Engl and since the year 1740. ...That there should 
be BO genera] an out-pouring of the spirit — so many hundreds and thou- 
sands awakened all over the country, and such an almost universal exter- 
reformation, and so many receive the word with joy; and yet, after 
ill, things come to be as they now are : so many fallen away to carnal 
security, and so many turned enthusiasts and heretics, and the country so 
>lrd in their prejudices against experimental religion and the 
trines of the gospel, and a flood of Arminianism and immorality, 
• deluge the land : but, as strange and dark as it may have seemed, 
I if any of us had lived with the Israelites in the wilderness, 
or In thi ihrc: first ages after Chilst, or in the time of the reformation 



the author's preface. ix 

from Peter, :, the dispensations of Divine Providence would, upon the 

reared much more mysterious than they do now. And 

s when God was doing glorious things for his Church. 

—A ed, it has happened in our day, however strange it may seem 

to us, no otherwise than our Savior foretold it commonly would under the 

snsation, a: least till Satan is bound, that he may deceive the 

nations no more. The sovcer goes forth to sow, and some seed falls by the 

way-side, and some on stony, and some on thorny, and some on good 

ground ; and while he is sowing good seed, an enemy in the night, the 

devil, unobserved, sows tares : Now when the sun is up, i. e. when new 

times come on, and trials approach, the main of the seed is lost ; not only 

it fell by the way-side, but also what fell on the stony and thorny 

ground. And when the good ground is about to bring forth fruit, the tares 

begin to appear too.... Mai. xiii. Thus it has always been. — This is a state 

cf trial, and God has permitted so many sad and awful things to happen 

In times of reformation, with design to prove the children of men, and 

know what is in their hearts. 

The young people almost all over New-England professed they would 
for ever renounce youthful vanities, and seek the Lord. " "Well," God, 
in the course of his Providence, as it were, says, " I will try you." 
Seeming converts expressed great love to Christ, his truths, and ministers, 
and v. ays : " Well," says God, " I will try you." Multitudes, being 
enemies to all true religion, longed to see the whole reformation fall into 
disgrace, and things return to their own channel ; and they sought for 
objections and stumbling-blocks : M Well," says God, M You may have 
" them, and I will try and see how you will be affected, and what you 
u will say, and whether you will be as glad when the cause of my Sox 
" is betrayed by the miscarriages of those that profess to be his friends, 
*' as the Jew of old were, when my Sox himself was betrayed into their 
hands by Judas." Thus God means to try every one. 

A compassionate sense of the exercises, which godly persons, especial- 
ly among common people, might be under, in these evil days, while some 
are fallen away, and others are clapping their hands and rejoicing with 
all their hearts to see Zion laid waste ; while Arminians are glossing their 
scheme, and appealing to reason and common sense, as though their 
principles were near or quite self-evident to all men of thought and can- 
dor ; and while enthusiasts are going about as men inspired and immedi- 
ately sent by the Almighty, pretending to extraordinary sanctity, and bold 
in it that they are so holy in themselves, and so entirely on the Lord's 
side, that all godly people must, and cannot but see as they do, and fall 
in with them, unless they are become blind, dead and carnal, and gotten 
) the world ; a compassionate sense, I say, of the exercises of 
mind, which pious persons among common people might have, in such a 

B 



X THE AUTHOR'S FESFAGE. 

f things, was the first motive which excited me to enter 
upon this work, which I now offer to the public : And to make divine 
truths plain to such, and to strip error naked before their ey*s, that they 
might be established, and comforted, and quickened in their way heaven- 
ward, was the end I had in view : and, accordingly, I have labored very- 
much to adapt myself to the lowest capacities, not meaning to -write a 
book for the learned and polite, but for common people, and especially 
for those who -are godly among them. 

To these, therefore, that they may read what I have written with the 
greater profit I will offer these two directions : 

1. Labor after determinate ideac of God, and a sense of his infnite 
glory. will spread- a light over-all the duties and doctrines of reli- 
gion, and help you to understand the law and the gospel, and to pry into 
the mysteries, and discern the beauties, of the divine government. By 
much the greatest part of what I have written, besides shewing what 
God is, con* ; st r ^ in but so many propositions deduced from the divine 
perfections. Begin here, therefore, and learn what God is, and then 
what the moral lain is ; and this will help you to understand what our 
ruin is, and what the way of our recovery by free grace through Jesits 
Christ. The Bible is designed- for rational creatures, and has God for 
its author -; and you may therefore depend upon it, that it contains a 
scheme perfect 1 )- rational, divine and glorious ; and the pleasure of divine 
knowledge will a thousand times more than recompence all your reading, 
study and pains : only content -not yourselves with a general superficial 
knowledge, but enter thoroughly into- things. 

2. Practice, as well as read. The -end of reading and knowledge is 
practice : and holy practice will help you to understand what you read. 
L t God with all your heart, a?id your neighbor as yourself ; and you cannot 

but understand me, while, in the first Discourse, I shew what is implied 
in these two great commands : and practice repentance towards God, 
and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ ; and the second Discourse, 
which treats of the nature of the gospel, and a genuine compliance there- 
with, will naturally become plain and easy : and while you daily study- 
divine truths in your heads, and digest them well in your hearts, and 
practice them in your lives, your knowledge and holiness will increase, 
;t id Cod's word and providence be better understood, your perplexing 
ill be more solved, and yon be established, strengthened and 
n for ted, in your way heaven-ward; and your light shining before 
men, they will see your good works, and your Father which is in Heaven 
* iU Bed.— All which are the hearty desire and prayer of 

Your Servant in Jesus Christ, 

JOSEPH BELLAMY. 



(True Eeltgton tjelweatctJ. 



wsat 



DISCOURSE L 



SHEWING THE NATURE OP THE DIVINE LAW, AND WHEREIN' 
CONSISTS A REAL CONFORMITY TO IT. 



mat. xxn. :r,sa,3? ? 4o. 

ih lace the Lord thy God toiih all thy heart , and 
ztballtb) ;; -.d.... This u the frst end great com- 

ma And the sect ike unto it, Thou shall love ti neighbor ak 

tbj:- tbeu ::. . bents bang all the law and the prophets. 

THE INTRODUCTION* 

X RUE religion consists in a conformity to the law of 

God, and in a compliance with the gospel of Christ. The re- 
ligion of innocent man consisted only in a conformity to the 
law — the law of nature, with. the addition of one positive pre- 
cept : he had no need of gospel-grace. But when man lest 
his innocency, and became guilty and depraved — when he fell 
under the wrath of God and power of sin, he needed a redeem- 
er and a sanctiner ; and in the gospel a redeemer and a sanc- 
tifier are provided, and a way for our obtaining pardoning mer- 
cy and sanctifying grace is opened — a compliance with* which 
does now, therefore, become part of the religion* of a fallen 
creature. Now, if we can but rightly u ;tandthe law, and 

rightly understand die gospel^ we may easily see wherein a 
conformity to the one, and a compliance with the other, does 
consist ; and so what tru ion is. 

For the present, let us take the law under consideration. — 
And it will be proper to enquire into these following part 



2 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

lars : — 1. What duty does God require of us in his law ? — 2. 
From what motives must that duty be done ? — 3. What is that 
precise measure of duty which God requires in his law? And 
a short, but very clear and plain answer to all these questions 
we have before us in our text ; which is the words of our blessed 
Savior, and in which he does upon design declare what the sum 
and substance of the law is. He had a question put to him in these 
words : u Master, which is the great commandment in the 
law ?" To which he answers — " Thou shalt love the Lord 
thy God with all thy heart, &c. ; this is the first : The second 
is like unto it, fkc." The ten commandments are summed up 
in these two ; and every duty enjoined in the law, and incul- 
cated in the prophets, is but a deduction from these two, 
in which all are radically contained. A thorough under- 
standing of diese two will therefore give us an insight into 
all. Let us now, therefore, begin with taking thejirst of these 
into particular consideration. — Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thi) heart, &c....Here is — 1. The duty required, 
viz, love to God. — 2. The grounds and reasons of the duty in- 
timated. ...Because he is the Lord our God. — 3. The measure of 
duty r e quired.... Wi th all thy heart, &c. 

In discoursing upon these words, I will therefore endeavor 
to shew, 

I. What is implied in love to God. 

II. From what motives we are required to love him. 

III. What is the measure of love which is required. 

SECTION I. 
SHEWING WHAT IS IMPLIED IN LOVE TO GOD. 

I. I am to shew xvhat is implied in love to God. 
And 

1. A true knowledge of God \s implied ; for this lays the foun- 
dation of love. A spiritual sight of God, and a sense of his 
glory and beauty, begets love. When he that commanded 
the light to shine out of darkness, shines in our hearts, and 
gives us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God ; and 
when we, with open face, behold, as in a glass, the glory of the 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 3 

Lord, then we are changed into the same image : the temper 
and frame of our hearts become like God's : (to speak after 
the manner of men) we begin to feel towards God, in a meas- 
ure, as he does towards himself ; i. e. to love him with all our 
hearts.. ..II 'Cor. iii- 18. & iv. 6. For now we begin to perceive 
the grounds and reasons of that infinite esteem he has of him- 
self, and infinite complacency in himself, and why he commands 
all the world to love and adore him : And the same grounds and 
reasons which move him thus to love himself, and command all 
the world to do so too, do enkindle the divine flame in our hearts. 
When we see God, in a measure, such as he sees himself to be, 
and have a sense of his glory and beauty in being what he is, in 
a measure, as he himself has, then we begin to love him with 
the same kind of love, and from the same motives, as he himself 
does ; only in an infinitely inferior degree. This sight and sense 
of God discovers the grounds of love to him : We see why he 
requires us to love him, and why we ought to love him — how 
right and fit it is ; and so we cannot but love him. 

This true knowledge of God supposes, that, in a measure, 
we see God to be just such a one as he is ; and, in a measure, 
have a sense of his infinite glory and beauty in being such. 
For if our apprehensions of God are not right, it is not God 
we love, but only a false image of him framed in our own 
fancy.* And if we have not a sense of his glory and beauty 

* How false and dangerous, therefore, is that principle, " That it is no 
matter what men's principles are, if their lives be but good." — Just as if 
that external conformity to the law might be called a good life, which 
does not proceed from a genuine love to God in the heart : or just as if 
a man might have a genuine love to God in his heart, without having 
right apprehensions of him !...or just as if a man might have right appre- 
hensions of God, let his apprehensions be what they will ! Upon this 
principle, Heathens, yews, and Mahometans, may be saved as well as 
Christians. And, upon this principle, the heathen nations need not much 
trouble themselves to know which is the right God among all the gods 
that are worshipped in the world ; for it is no matter which God they think 
is the true, if their lives are but good. — But why has God revealed him- 
self in his word, if right apprehensions of God be a matter of such indif- 
ference in religion ? and wfiy did St. Paul take such pains to convert the 
heathen nations to Christianity, and so much fill up his epistles to them 
afterwards with doctrinal points, and be so strenuous as to say, " If an an- 
gel from heaven should preach any other gospel, let him be accur- 
sed," if right apprehensions of Gcd, and right principles of religion be a 



4 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

in being what he is, it is impossible we should truly love 
and esteem him for being such. To love God for being what 
he is, and yet not to have any sense of his glory and beauty in, 
being such, implies a contradiction -; for it supposes we have 
a sense of his glory and beauty when we have not : a sense of 
the beauty and amiableness of any object being always neces- 
sarily implied in love to it. Where no beauty or amiableness 
is seen there can be no love. Love cannot be forced. Forced 
love is no love. If we are obliged to try to force ourselves to 
iove any body, it is a sign they are very odious in our eyes, or 
at lcabt that we see no beauty or amiableness in them, no 
form or comeliness, wherefore we should desire or delight in 
thzm.... Cant, viii. T* In all' cases, so far as we see beauty, so 
far we love, and no farther. 

Most certainly that knowledge of God which is necessaiy 
to lay a foundation of genuine love to him, implies not only 
right apprehensions of what he is, but also a sense of his glory 
and beautv in being such ; for such a knowledge of God as 
consists merely in speculation, let it rise ever so high, and be 

matter of such indifference ? — It is strange that such a notion should be 
ever once mentioned by any that pretend to be Christians, since it is sub- 
versive of the whole Christian religion : making Christianity no safer a way 
to heaven than Paganism : Yea, such a principle naturally tends to make 
all those who imbibe it leave love to God and faith in Christ out of their 
religion, and quiet themselves with a mere empty form of external duties : 
Or, in other words, it tends to make them leave the law and thegospel out 
of their religion, and quiet themselves with mere heathen morality ; for a 
man cannot attain to love to God and faith in Christy without right appte- 
htntion* of God and Christ : Or, in other words, a man cannot attain to a 
real conformity to the law, and to a genuine compliance with the gospel, 
uniess his principles respecting the law and gospel are right : but a man 
attain to a good life, externally, let his apprehensions of God and 
C i:t> of law and gospel, and all his principles of religion, be what they 
will. Let him be a heathen, or Jew,, a Mahometan, or Christian ; yea, 
if a man be an Atheist, he may live a good life externally ; for any man 
has • it power to do every external duty ; audit is many times much 

to men's honor and worldly interest to appear righteous outwardly before 
.Mat. uciii. 28. 
N. B. What is here said, may, with a little alteration, be as well appli- 
r me other sorts of men. So the Moravians say " They care not 

principles are, if they do but love the Savior." So,in N&W- 
are multitudes who care little or nothing what doctrines 
but full of flaming zeal. Just as if it were no 
. ' / we frame an idea of, if we do but love him i 
• about, if we are bat FLAMING Hoi. 



DISTINGUISHED TROM ALI^GOUXTERTElTs. S 

ever so clear, will never move us to love him. Mere specula- 
tion, where there is no sense of beauty, will no sooner fill the 
heart with love, than a looking-glass will be filled with love by 
the image of a beautiful countenance, which looks into it : and 
a mere speculative knowledge of God, will not, cannot, beget 
a sense of his beauty in being what-he is, when there is naturally 
no disposition in ourhearts to account him glorious in being such, 
but wholly to the contrary. Rom. viii. T..- The carnal mind is -en- 
nitij against God. When natures are in perfect contrariety, 
(the one sinful, and the other holy,) the more they are known 
to each other, the more is mutual hatred stirred up, and their 
entire aversion to each other becomes more sensible The 
more they know of one another, the greater is their dislike, and 
the plainer do they feel it. — Doubtiess the fallen angels have 
a great degree of speculative knowledge j they have a very clear 
sight and great sense of what God is : but the more they know 
of God, the more they hate him : u e. their hatred and aver- 
sion is stirred up the more, and they feel it plainer. So, awa* 
kened sinners, when under deep and thorough conviction, have 
comparatively a very clear sight and great sense of God ; but 
it only makes them see and feel their native enmity, which be- 
fore lay hid. A sight and sense of what God is, makes them 
see and feel what his law is, and so what their duty is, and so 
what their sinfulness is, and so what their danger is : It makes 
the commandment come, and so sin revives, and they die..*. Rom. 
vii. 7, 8, 9. The clearer sight and the greater sense they have 
of what God is, the more plainly do they perceive that perfect 
contrarietv between his nature and their's : their aversion to 
God becomes discernible : they begin to see what enemies 
thev are to him : and so the secret hypocrisy there has been in 
all their pretences of love, is discovered — and so their high con- 
ceit of their goodness, and all their hopes of finding favor in the 
sight of God upon the account of it, cease, die away, and come 
to nothing. Si?i revived, and I died. The greater sight and 
sense thev have of what God is, the plainer do they feel that 
they have no love to him ; but the greatest aversion : for the 



6 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

more thcv know of God, the more their native enmity is stirred 
up. So, again, as soon as ever an unre generate sinner enters 
into the world of spirits, where he has a much clearer sight 
and greater sense of what God is, immediately his native en- 
mity works to perfection, and he blasphemes like a very devil : 
and that although perhaps he died full of seeming love and joy. 
As the Galatians, who once loved Paul, so as that they could 
even have plucked out their eyes and given them to him ; yet, 
when afterwards they came to know more clearly what kind of 
man he was, then they turned his enemies : And so, finally, all the 
wicked, at the day of Judgment, when they shall see very clear- 
ly what God is, will thereby only have all the enmity of their 
hearts stirred to perfection. — From all which it is exceedingly 
manifest that the clearest speculative knowledge of God, is so 
far from bringing an unholy heart to love God, that it will only 
stir up the more aversion ; and therefore that knowledge of 
God which lays the foundation of love, must imply not only 
right apprehensions of what God is, but also a sense of his glo- 
ry and beauty in being such.* 

Wicked men and devils may know what God is, but none 
but holy beings have any sense of his infinite glory and beauty in 
being such; which sense, in scripture-language, is called scei ng 
and knowing. I. John iii. 6. Whosoever sinneth,hath not seen 
him, neither knozvn him. III. John, ver. 11. He that doth evil 
/. th not seen GocL I. John ii. 4. He that s ait h, I know him, 
andkecpeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not 

* I grant, that if all our enmity against God arise merely from our 
COIN him to be our enemy, then a manifestation of his love to our 

souls will cause our enmity to cease, and bring us to love him ; nor will 
th( i need of a sense of the moral excellency of his nature to pro- 

duce it ; and so there will be no need of the sanctifying influences of the 
h<>ly spirit. A manifestation of the love of God to our souls will effectu- 
us....and thus a man may be under great terrors from a sense 
of God, and may sec the enmity of his heart in this sense; 
l have, as he thinks, great manifestations of the love 
< f God, and be filled with love and joy ; and after all, never truly seethe 
own heart, nor have his nature renewed : and a man's having 
■>uch a false conversion, naturally leads him to frame wrong 
ma of religion, and blinds bis mind against the truth. Many of the 
Jntinomian principles take rise from this quarter. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 7 

in him. Because wicked men have no sense of his glory and 
beauty, therefore they are said not to know God : For all 
knowledge without this is vain ; it is but the form of knowledge 
....Rom. ii. 20. It will never enkindle divine love. And, in 
scripture, sinners are said to be blind, because, after all their 
light and knowledge, they have no sense of God's glory in be- 
ing what he is, and so have no heart to love him. And hence 
also they are said to be dead, They know nothing of the in- 
effable glory of the divine nature, and the love of God is not 
in them.... John v. 42. and viii. 19, 55* 

2. Another thing implied in love to God is esteem. Esteem-* 
strictly speaking, is that high and exalted thought of, and value 
for, any thing, which arises from a sight and sense of its own 
intrinsic worth, excellency and beauty. So, a sense of the inn- 
Bite dignity, greatness, glory, excellency and beauty of the 
most high God, begets in us high and exalted thoughts of him, 
and makes us admire, wonder and adore. Hence, the heaven- 
ly hosts fall down before the throne, and, under a sense of his 
ineffable glory, continually cry, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Al- 
mighty, the whole earth is full of thy glory. And Saints here 
below, while they behold, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, 
are ravished ; they esteem, they admire, they wonder and 
adore : and, under some feebler sense of the ineffable glory of 
the divine nature, they begin to feel as they do in heaven, and 
to speak their language, and say, " Who is a God like unto 
thee ! thy name alone is excellent, and thy glory is exalted 
above the heavens." 

This high esteem of God disposes and inclines the heart to 
acquiesce, yea, to exult 3 in all the high prerogatives God as- 
sumes to himself. 

God, from a consciousness of his own infinite excellency, his 
entire right to and absolute authority over all things, is dispos- 
ed to take state to himself, and honor and majesty, the king- 
dom, the power and the glory ; and he sets up himself as the 
most high God, supreme Lord and sovereign Governor of the 

whole world, and bids all worlds adore him, and be in a most 

C 



8 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

perfect subjection to him, and that with all their hearts ; and 
esteems the wretch, who does not account this his highest hap- 
piness, worthy of eternal damnation. God thinks it infinitely 
becomes him to set up himself for a God, and to command all 
the world to adore him, upon pain of eternal damnation. He 
thinks himself fit to govern the world, and that the throne is his 
proper place, and that all love, honor and obedience are his due. 
" I am the Lord, (says he) and besides me there is no God. 
" I am the Lord, that is my name, and my glory will I not give 
M to another. And thus and thus shall ye do, for I am the 
" Lord. And cursed be every one that continues not in all 
« things written in the book of the law to do them." Now it 
would be infinitely wicked for the highest angel in Heaven to 
assume any of this honor to himself ; but it infinitely becomes 
the most high God thus to do. And when we see his infinite 

lity, greatness, glory and excellency, and begin rightly to 
esteem him, then his conduct, in all this, wiil begin to appear 
infinitely right and fit, and so infinitely beautiful and ravishing, 
andworthvto be rejoiced and exulted in. Psalm xd. 1....77ze 
Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice : let the multitude of the ides 
be glad thereof. 

And a sight and sense of the supreme, infinite glory and ex- 
cellency of the divine nature, will not only make us glad that he 
is God, and King, and Governor ; but also exceedingly glad 
that we live under his government, and are to be his subjects 
and servants, and to be at his disposal.... It will shew its the 
grounds and reasons of his law., .how infinitely right and fit it is 
e should love him with all our hearts, and obey him in 
c\ cry thing ; how infinitely unfit and wrong the least sin is, and 
tthe threatened punishment : and, at the same time, it 
will help us to see that all the nations of the earth are as a drop 
of the bucket, or small dust of the balance, before him ; and 
wre < wrselves are nothing and less than nothing in his sight. 

that a right sight and sense of the supreme, infinite glory of 
1 d, will make us esteem him, so as to be glad that he is on 
tlie throne, and we at hi.s foots tool.... that he is king, and we his 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 9 

subjects... that he rules and reigns, and that we are absolutely 
in subjection, and absolutely at his disposal. In a word, we 
shall be glad to see him take ail that honor to himself which he 
does, and shall be heartily reconciled to his government, and 
cordially willing to take our own proper places ; and hereby a 
foundation will begin to be laid in our hearts for ail things to 
come to rights. Job xlii.. 5, 6. ...L have heard of thee by the hear- 
ing of the ear : but now mine eye seeth thee. IVherefore I ab- 
hor myself and repent in dust and ashes. Isa. ii. 11. ..The lofty 
looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of man shall 
be brought down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted..*. And that 
all this is implied in a genuine love to God, not only the rea- 
son of the thing and the plain tenor of scripture manifest, 
but it is even self-evident ; for if we do not so esteem God as 
to be thus glad to have him take his place, and we ours, it argues 
secret dislike, and proves that there is secret rebellion in our 
hearts : Thus, therefore, must we esteem the glorious God, or 
be reputed rebels in his sight. 

3. Another thing implied in love to God may be called be- 
nevolence. When we are acquainted with any person, and he 
appears very excellent in. our eyes, and we highly esteem him, 
it is natural now heartily to wish him well ; we are concerned 
for his interest ; we are glad to see it go well with him, and 
sorry to see it go ill with him ; and ready at all times chearful- 
ly to do what we can to promote his welfare* Thus Jonathan 
felt towards David : and thus love to God will make us feel to- 
wards him, his honor and interest in the world. When God 
is seen in his infinite dignity, greatness, glory and excellency, 
as the most high God, supreme Lord and sovereign governor 
of the whole world, and. a sense of his infinite worthiness is 
hereby raised in our hearts, this enkindles a holy benevolence, 
the natural language of which is, Let God be glorified.. ..Psalm 
xcvi. 7, 8. And be thou exalted, God, above the heavens : let 
thy glory be above all theearth....Fsa\m lvii. 5, 11. 

This holy disposition sometimes expresses itself in earnest 
longings that God would glorify himself, and honor his great 



10 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

name ; and bring all the world into an entire subjection to him. 
And hence this is the natural language of true love. ...Our father 
vjhich art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come\ 
thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.... Nat. vi. 9, 10. 
And hence, when God is about to bring to pass great and glo- 
rious things to the honor of his great name, it causes great joy 
and rejoicing. Psalm xcvi. 11, 12, 13. ...Let the heavens rejoice, 
and let the earth be glad : let the sea roar and the fulness there* 
of: let the f eld bejoyful, and all that is therein : then shall the 
trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord ; for he cometh,for he 
cometh to judge the earth : he shall judge the world xvith right-* 
eousness, and the people xvith his truth. 

And hence again, when God seems to be about to do, or per- 
mit, any thing, which, as it seems to us, tends most certainly to 
bring reproach and dishonor upon his great name, it occasions 
the greatest anguish and distress. Thus says God to Moses, 
" This is a stiff-necked people, let me alone that I may destroy 
" them in a moment, and I will make of thee a great nation. 71 
But says Moses, u What will become of thy great name ? 
" What will the Egyptians say ? And what will the nations all 
" round about say i n And he mourns and wrestles, cries and 
prays, begs and pleads, as if his heart would break \ and says 
he, u If I may not be heard, but this dishonor and reproach 
M must come upon thy great name, it cannot comfort me to tell 
u me of making of me a great nation : pray let me rather die 
u and be forgotten forever, and let not my name be numbered 
u among the living ; but let it be blotted out of thy book." 
"Well, says God, a I will hear thee. But, as truly as I live, I 
u will never put up these affronts ; but the whole world shall 
u know what a holy and sin-hating God I am, and be filled 
<c with my glory : for the carcases of all those who have treat- 
tc ccl me thus shall fall in the wilderness ; and here they shall 
M wander till forty years are accomplished, and then I will do 
M so and so to their children, and so secure the honor of my 
" power, truth and faithfulness." And now Moses is content 
live in the wilderness, and do, and suffer, and undergo any 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 11 

thing, if God will but take care of his great name. Exod. xxxii. 
Numb. xiv.... And as it is distressing to a true lover of God, to 
see God's name, and works, and ways fall into reproach and 
contempt ; and as, on the other hand, there is no greater joy than 
to see God glorify himself (Exod. xv. ) ; hence, this world, 
even on this account, may be fitly called a vale of tears to the 
people of God, because here they are always seeing reproach 
and contempt cast upon God, his name, his works and his ways : 
And hence, at the day of judgment, all these tears shall be 
wiped away from their eyes, because then they shall see all 
things turned to the advancement of the glory of his great name, 
throughout the endless ages of eternity.. ..itay. xix. 1, 2, 3,4, 5. 

Again, this divine benevolence, or wishing that God may- 
be glorified, sometimes expresses itself in earnest longings that 
all worlds might join together to bless and praise the name of 
the Lord ; and it appears infinitely fit and right, and so infi- 
nitely beautiful and ravishing, that the whole intelligent creation 
should forever join in the most solemn adoration : yea, and 
that sun, moon, stars.... earth, air, sea.. ..birds, beasts, fishes.... 
mountains and hills, and all things, should, in their way, dis- 
play the divine perfections, and praise the name of the Lord, 
because his name alone is excellent, and his glory is exalted 
above the heavens. And hence the pious Psalmist so often 
breathes this divine language : Psalm ciii. 20, 21, 22.... Bless 
the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength — that do his com* 
viandments, hearkening unto the voice of his zuord.... Bless ye the 
Lord, all ye his hosts, ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.... 
Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion : 
Bless the Lord, my soul. Psalm cxlviii, 1 — 13.. ..Praise ye 
the Lord. ...Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise him in 
the heights,. ..Praise him, all ye his angels : praise him, all his 
hosts.. ..Praise him, sun and moon, (Be. — Let them praise the 
name of the Lord ; for his name alone is excellent, (3c. See al- 
so the 95, 96, 97, & 98th Psalms, &c. &c. 

Lastly, from this divine benevolence arises a free and genu- 
ine disposition to consecrate and give up ourselves entirely to 



12 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

the Lord forever — to walk in all his ways, and keep all his com- 
mands, seeking his glory : For if we desire that God may be 
glorified, we shall naturally be disposed to seek his glory. A 
sight and sense of the infinite dignity, greatness, glory and ex- 
cellency of God, the great creator, preserver and governor of 
the world, who has an entire right unto, and an absolute author- 
ity over all things, makes it appear infinitely fit that all things 
should be for him, and him alone ; and that we should be en- 
tirely for him, and wholly devoted to him ; and that it is infi- 
nitely wrong to live to ourselves, and make our own interest 
our last end. The same views which make the godly earnest- 
ly long to have God glorify himself, and to have all the world 
join to give him glory, thoroughly engage them for their parts 
to live to God. After David had called upon all others to bless 
the Lord, he concludes with, Bless the Lord, mrj sold : And 
this is the language of heaven — Rev. iv. 11.... Thou art worthy y 
Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power : For thou hast 
created all things, and for thy pleasure they are, and were crea- 
ted. And it was their maxim in the Apostles' days, Whether 
they ate or drank, or whatever they did, all must be done to the 
glory of 'God. ...I Cor. x. 31. And it was their way, not to live 
to themselves, but to the Lord.. ..II Cor. v. 15 : Yea, Whether 
they lived, to live to the Lord ; or zvhether they died, to die to the 
Lord.. ..Rom. xiv. 7, 8. This was what they commended.... 
Phil. ii. 20, 21. And this was what they enjoined, as that, in 
which the very spirit of true religion consisted.. ..Eph. vi. 5, 6, 
7. — I Cor. vi. 20. — Rom. xii. 1. & vii. 4. 

All rational creatures, acting as such, are always influenced 
b\ motives in their whole conduct. Those things are always 
the most powerful motives, which appear to us most worthy ot 
our choice. The principal motive to an action, is always the 
ultimate end of the action : Hence, if God, his honor and inte-* 
rest, appear to us as the supreme good, and most worthy of our 
choice, then God, his honor, and interest, will be the principal 
tnotive and ultimate end of all we do. If we love God su- 
preme!) , v.v shall live to him ultimately ; if we love him with 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 13 

all our hearts, we shall serve him with all our souls : Just as, 
on the other hand, if we love ourselves above all, then self-love 
will absolutely govern us in all things ; if self-interest be the 
principal motive, then self-interest will be the last end, in our 
whole conduct : Thus, then, we see, that if God be highest in 
esteem, then GocPs interest will be the principal motive and the 
last end of the whole conduct of rational creatures ; and if self 
be the highest in esteem, then self-interest will be the principal 
motive and last end : And hence we may observe, that where 
self interest governs men, they are considered in scripture as 
serving themselves. ...Hos. x. 1. — Zee. vii. 5, 6. And where 
God^s interest governs, they are considered as serving the Lord 
....II Cor. v. 15. — Gal. i. 10. — Eph. vi. 5,6,7. compared with 
Tit. ii. 9, 10. To love God so as to serve him, is what the 
law requires ; — to love self so as to serve self is rebellion 
against the majesty of heaven : And the same infinite obliga- 
tions which we are under to love God above ourselves ; even 
the same infinite obligations are we under to live to God ulti- 
mately, and not to ourselves : And therefore it is as great a sin 
to live to ourselves ultimately, as it is to love ourselves supremely. 
4. and lastly. Delight in God, is also implied in love to him. 
By delight we commonly mean that pleasure, sweetness and 
satisfaction, which we take in any thing that is very dear to us. 
When a man appears very excellent to us, and we esteem him, 
and wish him all good, we also, at the same time, feel a delight 
in him, and a sweetness in his company and conversation ; we 
long to see him when absent ; we rejoice in his presence ; the 
enjoyment of him tends to make us happy : So, when a holy 
soul beholds God in the infinite moral excellency and beauty of 
his nature, and loves him supremely, and is devoted to him en- 
tirely, now also he delights in him superlative] v. His delight 
and complacency is as great as his esteem, and arises from a 
sense of the same moral excellency and beauty. From this de- 
light in God arise longings after further acquaintance with him, 
and greater nearness to him. Job xxiii. 3...Q that I knew where 
Imightfndhim y that I might come even to his seat ! — Longings 



14 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

after communion with him. Psalm Ixiii. 1, 2....0 God, thou art 
my God ; early will I seek thee : my soul thirstethfor thee : my 
flesh longethfor thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water 
is.., .To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in 
the sanctuary. Verse 8. ...My soul followeth hard after thee. 
A holy rejoicing in God. Hab. iii. 17, 18.... Although the Jig- 
tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vine ; the la- 
bor of the olive shall fail, and the field shall yield no meat ; the 
flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in 
the stalls.... Tet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God 
of my salvation. Finally, from this delight in God arises a ho- 
ly disposition to renounce all other things, and live wholly up- 
on him, and take up everlasting content in him, and in him 
alone. Psalm lxxiii. 25, 26. ...Whom have I in heaven but thee ? 
and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee... .My flesh 
and my heart fuleth : but God is the strength of my heart, and 
my portion forever* The vain man takes content in vain com- 
pany ; the worldly man takes content in riches ; the ambitious 
man in honor and applause ; the philosopher in philosophical 
speculations ; the legal hypocrite in his round of duties ; the 
evangelical hypocrite in his experiences, his discoveries, his 
joys, his raptures, and confident expectation of heaven : But 
the true lover of God takes his content in God himself. Psalm 
iv. 6, 7. And thus we see what is implied in love to God. 

And now, that this is a right representation of the nature of 
that love which is required in the first and great commandment 
of the law, upon which chiefly all the law and the prophets 
hang, is manifest, not only from the reason of the thing, and 
from what has been already said, but also from this, that such 
u love to God as this lays a sure and firm foundation for all ho- 
ly obedience. That love to God is of the right kind, which will 
effectually influence us to keep his commands. Johnyy. 14. 
I. John ii. 3, 4, 5. But it is evident, from the nature of things, 
that such a love as this will effectually influence us to do so. 
As self-love naturally causes us to set up self and seek self-inter- 

t, so this love to God will naturally influence us to set up God 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 15 

and seek his interest. As delight in the world naturally makes 
us seek after the enjoyment of the world, so this delight in God 
will naturally influence us to seek after the enjoyment of God : 
And while we love God primarily for being what he is, we 
cannot but, for the same reason, love his law, which is a trans- 
cript of his nature, and love to conform to it. If we loved him 
only from self-love, from the fear of hell, or from the hopes of 
heaven, we might, at the same time, hate his law : but if we love 
him for being what he is, we cannot but love to be like him ; 
which is what his law requires. To suppose that a man loves 
God supremely for what he is, and yet does not love to belike 
him, is an evident contradiction. It is to suppose a thing supreme- 
ly loved; and yet, at the same time, not loved at all : So that, 
to a demonstration, this is the very kind of love which the Lord 
our God requires of us. So, saints in heaven love God perfectly, 
andso the good man on earth begins, in a weak and feeble manner, 
to love God : for there is but one kind of love required in the 
law ; and so but one kind of love which is of the right sort : for 
no kind of love can be of the right son, but that very kind of 
love which the law requires ; There is, therefore, no difference 
between their love in heaven, and ours here upon earth, but 
only in degree. 

SECTION II. 

SHEWING FROM WHAT MOTIVES TRUE LOVE TO GOD TAKES 

ITS RISE, 

II. I now proceed to shew more particularly /rsw what vio- 
tives ive are required thus to love God. Indeed, I have done 
this in part already ; for I have been obliged all along, in shew- 
ing what is implied in love to God, to keep my eye upon the first 
and chief ground and reason of love, namely, what God is in 
himself. But there are other considerations which increase our 
obligations to love him and live to him j which ought, there- 
fore, to come into the account : And I design here to take a 
general view of all the reasons and motives which ought to in- 
fluence us to love the Lord our God ; all which are implied in 

D 



16 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

those words, The Lord thy God. Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
h all thy heart, i. e. because he is the Lord and our God, 

1. The first and chief motive which is to influence us to love 
God with all our hearts, is his infinite dignity and greatness, glo- 

and excellency ; or, in one word, his infinite amiableness. — 
We are to love him with all our hearts, because he is the Lord 
— because he is what he is, and just such a Being as he is. — On 
this account, primarily, and antecedent to all other considera- 
tions, he is infinitely amiable ; and, therefore, on this account, 
primarily, and antecedent to all other considerations, ought he 
to appear infinitely amiable in our eyes. This is the first and 
chief reason and ground upon which his law is founded, I am 
the Lord... (Exod. xx. 2. — Lev. xix. ) This, therefore, ought 
to be the first and chief motive to influence us to obey. The 
principal reason which moves him to require us to love him, 
ought to be the principal motive of our love. If the fundamen- 
tal reason of his requiring us to love him with all our hearts, is 
because he is what he is, and yet the bottom of our love be some- 
thing else, then our love is not what his law requires, but a thing 
of quite another nature : Yea, if the foundation of our love to 
God is not because he is what he is, in truth, we love him not 
at all. If I feel a sort of respect to one of my neighbors, who 
is very kind to me, and either do not know what sort of man 
he is, or, it I do, yet do not like him, it is plain, it is his kind- 
nesses I love, and not his person ; and all my seeming love to 
him is nothing but self-love in another shape : And let him 

ise being kind to me, and my love will cease : Let him cross 
me, and I shall hate him. Put forth thine hand norv, and touch 
all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face, (Job i. 11), 
said the devil concerning Job ; and, indeed, Job would have done 
so, had not his love to God taken its rise from another motive than 
God's kindnesses to him. But why need I multiply words ? 
For it seems even self-evident that God's loveliness ought to 
Ik the first and chief thing for which we love him. 

Now, God is infinitely lovely, because he is what he is ; or, 
in other words, his infinite dignity and greatness, glorv and ex- 



DISTINGUISHED PROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 17 

cellencv, are the result of his natural and moral perfections : 
So that it is a clear sight and realizing sense of his natural and 
moral perfections, as they are revealed in his works and in his 
word, that make him appear, to a holy soul, as a Being of in- 
finite dignity and greatness, glory and excellency. Thus, the 
Queen of Sheba, seeing and conversing with Solomon, and view- 
ing his works, under a sense of the large and noble endow- 
ments of his mind, was even ravished ; and cried out, The one 
half was not told me I And thus the holy and divinely enlight- 
ened soul, upon seeing God, reading his word, and meditating 
on his wonderful works, under a sense of his divine and in- 
comprehensible perfections, is ravished with his infinite dignity, 
majesty, greatness, glory and excellency; and loves, admires, 
adores ; and says, Who is a God like unto thee i 

His natural perfections are, 

(1.) His infinite understanding, whereby he knows himself, 
and all things possible, and beholds all things past, present and 
to come, at one all-comprehensive view. So that, from ever- 
lasting to everlasting, his knowledge can neither increase nor 
diminish, or his views of things suffer the least variation \ being 
always absolutely complete, and consequently necessarily al- 
ways the same. 

(2.) His almighty power, whereby he is able, with infinite 
case, to do any thing that he pleases. 

And his moral perfections are, 

(1.) His infinite wisdom, whereby he is able, and is inclined 
to contrive and order all things, in all worlds, for the best ends ? 
and after the best manner. 

(2.) His perfect holiness, whereby he is inclined infinitely to 
love right, and hate wrong : Or, according to scripture-phrase, 
to love righteousness and hate iniquity, 

(3.) His impartial justice, whereby he is unchangeably in- 
clined to render to every one according to his deserts. 

(4. ; His infinite goodness, whereby he can find in his heart 
to b the greatest favors upon his creatures, if he pleases ; 

and is inclined to bestow all that 11 things considered. 



18 TRUE RELIGION* DELINEATED, AND 

(5.) His truth and faithfulness, whereby he is inclined to 
fulfil all his will, according to his word: So that there is an ever- 
lasting harmony between his will, his word, and his performance. 

And his being, and all his natural and moral perfections, 
and his glory and blessedness, which result from them, he has 
in himself, and of himself, underived ; and is necessarily infi- 
nite, eternal, unchangeable, in all ; and so, absolutely indepen- 
dent, self-sufficient and all-sufficient. 

" This is the God, whom we do love ! 

u . This is the God, whom we adore ! 

"In him we trust.... to him we live ; 

" He is our all, for evermore. 
Now there are three ways by which the perfections of God are 
discovered to the children of men : By his works, by his word,and 
bv his spirit. By the two first, we see him to be what he is ; — by 
the last, we behold his infinite glory in being such : — The two first 
produce a speculative knowledge ; thelast,asenseofmoralbeauty. 

First. These perfections of God are discovered by his xvorks, 
i. e. by his creating, preserving, and governing the world; and by 
his redeeming, sanct'fying, and savi?ig his people. 

1. By his creating the zvorld. He it is, who has stretched 
abroad the heavens as a curtain, and spread them out as a tent 
to dwell in. ...who has created the sun, moon and stars, and 
appointed them their courses.... who has hung the earth upon 
nothing.... who has fixed the mountains, and bounded the seas, 
and formed every living creature. All the heavenly hosts he 
hath made, and crc ated all the nations that dwell upon the earth : 
and the birds of the air, and the beasts of the field, and the fishes 
of the sea, and every creeping thing, are the works of his hands : 
and the meanest of his works are full of unsearchable wonders, 
for surpassing our understanding : So that the invisible things 
cf God, from the creation of the zvorld, are clearly seen, being 
understt the things that are made, even his eternal power 
and Godhead : As St. Paul observes, in Rom. i. 20. 

2. By his preserving the world. His eyes run to and fro 
throughout all the v odd, beholding every thing. His eyes are 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 19 

upon all his works ; so that even the sparrows are not forgotten 
bv him, and the very hairs of our head are all numbered : And 
he holds all things in being ; and the opening of his hand fills 
the desires of every living creature : even the whole family of 
heaven and earth live upon his goodness, and are maintained by 
his bounty : In a word, his infinite understanding sees all.. ..his 
infinite power upholds all.... his infinite wisdom takes care of 
all, and his infinite goodness provides for all— and that every 
moment ; so that the invisible things of God are discovered in 
preserving as well as in creating the world : And hence, when 
the pious Psalmist meditates on the works of creation and pres- 
ervation, he sees God in them, and views his perfections, and 
is touched at heart with a sense of his glory ; and is filled \\ ith 
high and exalted, and with admiring and adoring thoughts of 
God. So, Psalm xix. I. ...The heavens declare the glory of the 
Lord, &c. And Psalm xcv. 1....0 come let us sing unto the 
Lord, &c. — But why ? — Verse 3. ..For the Lord is a great God, 
and a great King, above all gods. — But how does this appear ? 
Why, (ver. 4, 5.) In his hand are the deep places of the earth ; 
the strength of the hills is his also : The sea is his, and he made it; 
and his hands formed the dry land : Ver. 6...0, therefore, come 
let us worship and bow doxvn ; let us kneel before the Lord our 
Maker. And again, in Psal. xcvi. 1....0 sing unto the Lord a 
nezv sono- : sin? unto the Lord, all the earth. — But why ? — Ver. 
4. ..For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised : He is to be 
feared above all gods. — But wherein does this appear ? — Why, 
(ver. 5.) All the gods of the nations arc idols ; but the Lord made 
the heavens. And once more, in Psal. civ. 1, 2, he. ..Bless the 
Lord, my soul. — But why I. ...Thou art very great : thou art 
clothed with honor and majesty. — But how does this appear: — 
Why, Thou hast stretched out the heavens as a curtain. And 
ver. 5. ...And laid the foundations of the earth, that it cannot be 
removed for ever. And ver. 27.... All wail upon thee, that thou 
may est give them their meat in due sea on. Ver. 28.... That thou 
givest them, they gather : thou openest thy hand, they are filled 
with good. — And throughout the whole Fsalmht is meditating 



20 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

on the creation and preservation of the world ; and viewing the 
divine perfections therein discovered, and admiring the divine 
glory, and wondering and adoring ; and finally concludes with, 
Bless the Lord] my soul : Praise ye the Lord. But 

5. His perfections are still much more eminently displayed in 
that moral government which he maintains over the intelligent 
part of the creation ; especially his moral perfections. In the 
works of nature his natural perfections are to be seen : but, in 
his moral government of the world, he acts out his heart, and 
shews the temper of his mind : Indeed, all the perfections of 
God are to be seen in the work of creation, if we view angels 
and men, and consider what they were, as they came first out 
of his hands — holy and pure ; But still God's conduct towards 
them, under the character of their King and Governor, more ev- 
idently discovers the very temper of his heart. As the tree is 
known by the fruit, so God's moral perfections may be known 
by his moral government of the world. The whole world was 
created for a stage, on which a variety of scenes were to be open- 
ed ; in and by all which, God designed to exhibit a most exact 
image of himself : For, as God loves himself infinitely for be- 
ing what he is, so he takes infinite delight in acting forth and ex- 
pressing all his heart. He loves to see his nature and image 
shine in all his works, and to behold the whole world filled with 
his glory ; and he perfectly loves to have his conduct, the whole 
of it taken together, an exact resemblance of himself ; and in- 
finitely abhors, in his public conduct, in the least to counteract 
the temper of his heart; so as, by his public conduct, to seem 
to be what indeed he is not : So that, in his moral government 
of the world, we may see his inward disposition, and discern 
the true nature of his moral perfections : And indeed all his 
perfections are herein discovered ; particularly, 

(1 .) His infinite understanding. High on his throne in heav- 
en he sits, and all his vast dominions lie open to his view : His 
all-seeing eve views all his courts above, and sees under the 
whole heavens, look > th? >ugh the earth, and pierces all the dark 
caverns of hell ; so that his acquaintance with all worlds and all 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 21 

things is absolutely perfect and complete : He can behold all 
the solemn worship of heaven, and the inmost thoughts of all 
that great assembly : he can behold all the sin, misery and con- 
fusion that overspread the whole earth, and the inmost temper of 
every mortal ; and look through hell, and see all the rebellion, and 
blasphemv, and cunning devices of those infernal fiends ; — and 
all this at one all-comprehending view: And thus, as high Gov- 
ernor of the whole world, he continually beholds all things ; 
whereby a foundation is laid for the exercise of all his other per- 
fections in his government over all. See the omniscience of 
God elegantly described in Psal. exxxix. 1 — 12. And being 
perfectly acquainted with himself, as well as with all his crea- 
tures, he cannot but see what conduct from him towards them, 
will, all things considered, be most right, and fit, and amiable, 
and most becoming such an one as he is ; and also what conduct 
from them to him is his due ; and their duty. By his infinite 
understanding, he is perfectly acquainted with right and wrong 
— with what is fit, and what unfit : And, by the moral rectitude 
of his nature, he infinitely loves the one and hates the other, 
and is disposed to conduct accordingly ; — of which more pres- 
ently. Psal. cxlvii. 1.... Praise ye the Lord, for it is good to sing 
praises unto our God ; for it is pleasant, and praise is comely* 
— But why ? — Ver. 5. ..Great is our Lord and of great power ; 
ins understanding is infinite. — But wherein does that ap- 
pear ? — Why, (ver. 4.) He telleth the number of the stars ; he 
ccdleth them all by their names. Now, if the infinite under- 
standing of God maybe seen in this one particular, much more 
is it in the regular ordering and disposing of all things, through- 
out the whole universe ; and that, not only in the natural, but 
also in the moral world. 

(2) His infinite power is displayed in the government of the 
world : For he does according to his pleasure in the armies of 
heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth ; so that none 
can stay his hand, or hinder the execution of his designs. Have 
rebellions broken out in any part of his dominions ? — he has 
manifestly had the rebels entirely in his hands : They have lain 



22 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

absolutely at his mercy ; and he has dealt with them according 
to his sovereign pleasure ; and none has been able to make any 
resistance ; nor has there been any to deliver them out of his 
hands. When rebellion broke out in heaven, he crushed the 
rebels in a moment : They fell beneath the weight of his hand 
...they felt his power.. ..they despaired. ..they sunk to hell ; and 
there he reserves them in chains ; nor can they stir from their 
dark abode, but by his special permission. And when rebel- 
lion broke out upon earth, the rebels were equally in his hands, 
and at his mercy, unable to make any resistance ; although he 
was pleased, in his infinite wisdom, to take another method with 
them : But he has since discovered his power, in treading 
down his implacable enemies, under foot, many a time : He 
destroyed the old world, burned Sodom, drowned Pharaoh and 
his hosts, and turned Nebuchadnezzar into a beast. If his en- 
emies have exalted themselves, yet he has been above them — 
brought them down ; and discovered to all the world that they 
are in his hands, and without strength, at his disposal : Or if he 
has suffered them to go on and prosper, and exalt themselves 
greatly, yet still he has been above them, and has accomplished 
his designs by them, and at last has brought them down. — 
Haughty Nebuchadnezzar, when he had broken the nations to 
pieces, as if he had been the hammer of the whole earth, now 
thought himself somebody ; and Alexander the Great, when con- 
quering the world, aspired to be thought the son of Jupiter : 
But the most high God, the great and almighty Governor of 
the world, always had such scourges of mankind only as a rod in 
his hand, with which he has executed judgment upon a wicked 
world. Howbeit, they meant not so, neither did their hearts think 
so : But it was in their hearts to gratify their ambition, avarice, 
and revenge. However, he was above them ; and always such 
have been, in his hands, as the ax is in the hands of him that 
hexveth therewith^ or as the saw is in the hands of him that shaketh 
it ; or as the rod is in the hand of him that lifteth it up. And 
when he has done with the rod, he always breaks it and burns it : 
S^.c Isaiah x. 5 — 19. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 23 

And as this great King has discovered his almighty power, 
by crushing rebellions in his kingdom, and subduing rebels, so 
he has, also, in protecting his friends, and working deliverance 
for his people : He made a path for his people through the sea ; 
he led them through the wilderness : He gave them water to 
drink out of the rock ; and fed them with angels' food : In the 
day time he led them by a cloud, and all the night with the light 
of fire : He brought them to the promised land, and drove out 
the heathen before them ; and, in all their distresses, whenever 
they cried unto him, he delivered them : And as the supreme 
Governor of the world, in the days of old, did thus discover his 
almighty power in governing among his intelligent creatures, 
sc he is still, in various ways and manners, in his providential 
dispensations, evidently discovering that he can do all things : 
And his people see it and believe it ; and admire and adore :— 
Read PsaL cv. 

(3.) Again, His infinite wisdom is discovered in an endless 
variety of instances — in all his government throughout all his 
dominions — in his managing all things to the glory of his Ma- 
jesty.. ..to the good of his loyal subjects, and to the confusion 
of his foes. There has never any thing happened in all his do- 
minions, and never will, but has been, and shall be made entire- 
ly subservient to his honor and glory : Even the contempt cast 
upon him by his rebellious subjects, he turns to his greater glo- 
ry; as in the case of Pharaoh, who set up himself against God, 
and said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey him ? I knoxu not 
the Lord, nor will I let Lsraei go. And he exalted himself, and 
dealt proudly and haughtily ; and hardened his heart, and was 
resolved he would not regard God, nor be bowed nor conquer- 
ed by him ; for he despised him in his heart: But the more he 
carried himself, as if there were no God, the more were the be- 
ing and perfections of God made manifest ; for the more he 
hardened his heart — the more stout and stubborn he was, the 
more God honored himself in subduing him : Yea, God, in his 
infinite wisdom, suffered him to be as high and haughty — as 

stout and stubborn as he pleased ; lie took off all restraints from 

E 



24 • TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

him — permitted the magicians to imitate the- miracles of Mo- 
ses, so that Pharaoh, in seeing, might not see, nor be convinced ; 
and he ordered that the plagues should last but for a short sea- 
son, that Ph raoh might have respite ; and thus it was that God 
hardened his heart : And God, in his infinite wisdom, did all 
this with a view to his own glory ; as he tells Pharaoh by the 
band of Moses — '• Such and such plagues I design to bring up- 
on you, and to do so, and so, with you." And, indeed, for this 
cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power, and 
that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. ..Exod. ix. 
16 : And, accordingly, God was illustriously honored, at last, 
upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, at the Red Sea ; and the 
Egyptians, and all the neighboring nations, were made to know 
that he was the Lord ; and his name became dreadful among 
the heathen : And we find that, in three or four hundred years 
after, the Philistines had not forgotten it; for, when the ark.'m 
the days of Eli, was carried into the camp of Israel, the Philis- 
tines were sore afraid, and said, " God is come into the camp : 
Woe unto us : Who shall deliver us out of the hands of these 
mighty Gods ? These are the Gods that smote the Egyptians 
h all the plagues in the wilderness," &C....I Sam. iv. 
So God wisely ordered and over-ruled all things, that befel 
the children of Israel in the wilderness, to accomplish the ends 
he had in view : His designs were to get himself a great name, 
and nil die whole earth with his glory (Num. xiv. 21.) ; and to 
try and humble his people, and make them know, that it was 
not for their righteousness that he brought them into the land of 
loan, {DeuU ix.) And every thing that came to pass, for 
those forty years, was admirably calculated to attain these ends. 
The ncw3 of Pharaoh's overthrow — of God's coming down 
u\)nw Mount Sinai, in the presence of all Israel, and abiding 
re so long a Lime, with such awful majestv ; and of the pil- 
lar of cloud by day, and of fire by night — of the manna — of the 
\%ater flowing out of a rock, and following them — of their mur- 
rrections, and God's judgments upon them ; — 
I say, , and ©ther things of this nature, that 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERJLITS. 25 

happened to them for those forty years, flew all the world over, 
and filled all the nations of the earth with the greatest astonish- 
ment ; and made them think there was no God like the God of 
Israel.. .(Numb. xiv. 1«8, 14, 15.) By all these things, and by 
God's bringing his people, at last, to the possession of the land 
of Canaan, according to his promise, there was exhibited a spe- 
cimen of God's infinite knowledge, power, wisdom, holiness, jus- 
tice, goodness and truth ; and that before the eyes of all the na- 
tions : And so the whole earth was filled with his glory ; i. e. 
with the clear manifestations of those perfections in which his 
glory consists. And thus his great end was obtained : And, 
in the mean time, all the wanderings, and trials, and sins, and 
sorrows of the children of Israel, together with all the wonder- 
ful works which their eyes beheld, and wherein God discover- 
ed himself for those forty years, had a natural tendency to try 
them, to humble them, and break their hearts ; and make them 
know, that, not for their righteousness, nor for the uprightness 
of their hearts, did God, at last, shew them that great mercy : 
and to convince them of the exceeding great obligations they 
were under to love, and fear, and serve the Lord forever. And 
so, the other great end which God had in view was accomplish- 
ed.... Drttf. viii. ix. & x. chap. — And now, all these things were 
by God wisely done ; and in this his conduct, his infinite wisdom 
is to be seen.* — And thus it is in all God's dispensations, 
throughout all his dominions, with regard to the whole universe 
in general, and to every mteili gent creature in particular. His 



* If God had so ordered that Abraham had been born in the land of 
Canaan, ani y had multiplied greatly, and the other nations, 

wars, had wasted away and come to nothing, 
until thei ut the posterity of Abraham left, and they 

tilled the land, God's hand then would not have been seen. ...none of : 
llent ends attained.... all would have been resolved into natural cau 
Therefore God contrived where Abraham should be born — how he should 
leave untry — have a pi f the land of Canaan ; and I 

kis s to be in -come to be in great bondage and dis- 

tress ; how he would send, and how he would deliver them, and how 
should carry tin : , and what should happen ; and how evei 

should turn out at la. e laid the whole plan, with a view to th 

ds eye was upon. It was wi i, and, when it ca 

to be acted over, his infinite wisdom was discovered. 



26 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

works are all done in wisdom ; and so his infinite wisdom is 
discovered in all : And hence God appears infinitely glorious 
in the eyes of his people. ...Deut. xxxii. 3, 4. — Psal. civ. 24, & 
cv. 1, 45. — I Cor. i. 24, 31. 

(4.) Again, His infinite purity and holiness is also discover- 
ed in his government of the world — in all that he has done to 
establish rights and discountenance wrong, throughout all his do- 
minions. His creating angels and men in his own image, with 
his law written on their hearts, manifested his disposition, and 
showed what he was pleased with : But his public conduct, as 
moral Governor of the world, has more evidently discovered 
the very temper of his heart ; and shewn how he loves right 
and hates wrong, to an infinite degree. Governors, among men, 
discover much of their disposition, and show what they love 
and what they hate, by their laws ; and they show how fervent 
their love and hatred is, by all the methods they take to enforce 
them ; and so does the great Governor of the world : By his 
laws — by his promises and threatenings — by his past conduct, 
and declared designs for the future, he manifests how he loves 
moral good and hates moral evil. 

By his infinite understanding, he is perfectly acquainted with 
himself, and with all his intelligent creatures ; and so perfectly 
knows what conduct in him towards them is right, fit and ami- 
able, and such as becomes such a one as he is ; and also, perfectly 
knows what conduct in his creatures towards him, and towards 
each other, is fit and amiable, and so their duty. He sees what is 
right, and infinitely loves it, because it is right : He sees what is 
wrong, and infinitely hates it, because it is wrong ; and, in his 
whole conduct, as Governor of the world, he appears to be just 
what he is at heart — an infinite friend to right, and an infinite 
enemy to wrong. 

He takes state. ...sets up himself as a God.. ..bids all the world 
adore him, love and obey him, with all their hearts — and that 
upon pain of eternal damnation, in case of the least defect ; and 
promises eternal life and glory, in case of perfect obedience. 
This is the language of his law, Thou shall love the Lord thy 



DISTINGUISHED IROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 27 

God with ell thy heart, and thy neighbor as thyself : Do this, 
and live ; disobey, and die. And now all that infinite esteem 
for himself, and infinite regard for his own honor, which he here- 
in manifests, does not result from a proud or a selfish spirit ; for 
there is no such thing in his nature : Nor does he threaten dam- 
nation for sin, because it hurts him ; or promise eternal life to 
obedience, because it does him any good : for he is infinitely 
above us, and absolutely independent of us, and cannot receive 
advantage or disadvantge from us.. ..Job xxii. 2, 3. and xxxv. 6, 
7. But it results from the infinite holiness of his nature. He 
loves and honors himself as he does, because, since he is what 
he is, it is right and fit he should : He bids the world adore 
love and obey him with all their hearts, because, consider' ng 
what he is, and what they are, it is infinitely fit and right : He 
commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, because this al- 
so, in the nature of things, is right : And while he promises 
eternal life to the obedient, and threatens eternal damnation to 
the disobedient, he shows how infinitely he loves righteousness 
and hates iniquity. His promising eternal life and glory to 
perfect obedience, does indeed manifest the infinite goodness 
and bountifulness of his nature ; but then his promising all, un- 
der the notion of a reward, discovers this temper of his heart 
.... h is infinite lo ve to righ t. 

As to all his positive injunctions, thev are evidently designed 
to promote a conformity to the moral law. And as to the mor- 
al law, it is originally founded upon the very reason and nature 
of things. The duties required therein are required, original-. 
ly, because they are right in themselves : And the sins forbid- 
den, are forbidden, originally, because they are unfit and wrong 
in themselves. The intrinsic fitness of the things required, and 
the intrinsic unfitness of the things forbidden, was the original 
ground, reason and foundation oi his law. Thus, he bids all the 
world love him with all their hearts, because he is the Lord their 
God ; and love one another as brethren, because they are all 
children of the same common father, having the same nature. 
He requires this supreme love to himself, and this mutual love 



28 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

among his subjects, because it is right that so it should be ; and 
because he perfectly loves that the thing that is right should be 
done.... and not from any advantage that can possibly accrue unto 
him from the behavior of his creatures. , And he forbids the 
contrary, because it is wrong, and therefore infinitely hateful in 
his sight.... and not because it could beany disadvantage to 
him. — All the glory and blessedness which he bestows upon the 
angels in heaven, under the notion of a reward to their obcdzznct, 
is not because their obedience does him any good ; for it does 
not : nor because they deserve any thing from his hands ; for 
they do not : (Rom. xi. 35, 35. J but merely because it is right 
that they should, in nil things, obey him : This is what he loves, 
anj what he delights to honor; And all the infinite, eternal 
glories of heaven can but just serve as a sufficient testimony of 
his approbation. — So, on the other hand, it was not in a passion, 
or from sudden, rash revenge, (which many times influences 
sinful men to cruel and barbarous deeds), that he turned those 
that sinned down to hell ; and, for their first offence, doomed 
them to everlasting woe, without the least hope ; for there is no 
such thing in his nature. As he is not capable of being injured, 
as we are, so neither is he capable of such anger as we feel. 
No : the thing they did was in itself infinitely wrong, and that 
was the true and only cause of his infinite displeasure ; which 
infinite displeasure he meant to declare and make known in thd 
sight of all worlds, throughout the endless ages of eternity, by 
rendering to them according to their deserts : For he loves to 
appear as great an enemy to sin, in his conduct, as he is in his 
heart. He loves to act out his heart, and exhibit a true image 
of himself* Kis infinite love of righteousness and hatred of in- 
iquity, is also displayed in his promising eternal life and bless- 
edness to Adam and to all his race, a whole world of beings, as a 
reward to the obedience of Adam — by him constituted public 
head and representative, on the one hand ; and threatening eter- 
nal destruction to him and all his race, a whole world of beings, 
in case of the least transgression, on the other hand. But his 
infinite love to righteousness, and hatred of iniquity, is manifest- 



DISTINGUISH ->: ALL COUNTERFEITS. 29 

cd in the greatest perfection, m the death of Jesus Christ, his on- 
lv begotten son : But of this more afterward?. — In a word, all 
die blessings which he has granted to the godly in this world, as 
rewards of their virtue. ...to Abel, Enoch, and Noah ....to Let.... 
to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Bcc and all the juc u which 

he has executed upon the wicked. ...his turning Adam out of r i r- 
adise.... drowning the old world. ...burning , &c. together 

frith all the evils which betel the children of I in the wil- 

derness — in the time of the judges — in the reigns of their kings 
....and their long captivity in Babylon, Etc, have all been public 
testimonies that the righteous Lord loveth righteousness, and 
hateth iniquity. — And, in heaven and in hell, he designs to dis- 
play, to all eternity, in the most glorious and dreadful manner, 
how infinitely he loves righteousness and hates iniquity. 

Now when tru \ who are divinely enlightened, med- 

j en and view the laws, the conduct, and the declared designs 
of the great Governor of the world, they love, admire and adore, 
and say. Holy, h:. ts, the whole world is 

. This divine disposition, to love righteous- 
iniquity, which the great Governor of the world 
s discovers in all his government, appears infinitely beautiful 
excellent, and amiable in their eyes : Whence thev 
ready to say, Who is Hie wit o thee, L. long thegodsf 

- : thee y xess^ &c....As they do in 

; . xv. 11.* 



* I s some do), that there is nothing right or wrong 

antecedent to a c 

governor of the \ from his 

. these absurdities would 

1. Godareemfii 

cation at all. For if mere be no intrinsic moral tit" 6 in 

things, no right nor iuc 

1 so, no foundation, in the natun 
trior, ; i. e. there is m nsidered 

as a can be no inclinati >n or in him to] wt 

right and hate wrong, if there be n So 

. 
potic sov. makes hi tanyregaj 

rious 
Gcd, evidently as contrary to truth at can be devi 

rbai, 



30 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

(5.) His impartial justice is also discovered in his moral gov- 
ernment of the world. He appears, in his public conduct, as 
one infinitely engaged to give to every one his due, and as one 
absolutely governed by a spirit of the most perfectly disinterest- 
ed impartiality : He appears as one infinitely engaged to main- 
tain the rights of the Godhead, and to secure that glory to the 
divine Being that is his proper due ; and that by the law which 
he has established, in heaven and on earth, binding all to love, 
worship and obey him, as God, upon pain of eternal damnation : 
And so, again, he appears as one infinitely engaged to secure all 
his subjects here upon eaith in a quiet and peaceable posses- 
sion of dieir own proper rights ; and that by strictly enjoin- 

2. That, in the nature of things, there is no more reason to love and obey God, 
than there is to hats and disobey him : there being, in the nature of things, no 
right nor wrong. Just as if God was not infinitely worthy of our highest 
esteem and most perfect obedience I andjusias if, in the nature of things, 
there was no reason why we should love and obey him, but merely because he 
is the greatest and strongest, and says we must ! than which nothing can 
be more evidently absurd. But if these things are so, then it will follow, 

3. That there is no reason why he should require his creatures to love and obey 
him, or forbid the contrary ; or why he should reward the one, or punish the 
other : there being, in the nature of things, no right nor wrong : and so the 
foundation of God's law and government is overturned, and all religion 
torn up by the roots ; and nothing is left but arbitrary tyranny and servile 
subjection. ...all expressly contrary to Gen. xviii. 25 — Heb. i. 9 — JLph.xi.l 
— Rom. xii. 1 — Rev.iv. 11 — Rom. vii. 12 — Rom. ii. 4, 5, 6 — Rev. xix. 1, 6 
— Kzek. xviii. 25. 

Or again, if we should suppose (as others do), that there is nothing right 
or wrong, antecedent to a consideration of the general good of the whole 
system of intelligent created beings ; and that right and wrong result, ori- 
ginally and entirely, from the natural tendency of things to promote, or 
hinder the general good of the whole : then, also, these manifest absurdities 
will unavoidably follow : 

1. That toe moral perfections of God entirely consist in, or result from a dis- 
position to love his creatures supremely, and seek their happiness as his only end : 
just as if it became the most high to make a God of his creatures, and 
himself their servant ! expressly contrary to Rom. xi. 36 — Numb, xiv — 
Rev. iv. 11. 

2. That God loves virtue and rewards it, merely because it tends to make his 
creatures happy ; and hates vice and punishes it, merely because it tends to mahe 
his creatures miserable : just as if he had no regard to the rights of the 
Godhead, nor cared how much contempt was ca.^t upon the glorious ma- 
jestv of Heaven ! expressly contrary to Exod. xxxii. — Numb. xiv. — I Sam. 
ii. 29, 30—11 Sam. xii. 10, 14— Psalm li. 4. 

3. That he requires us to love and obey him, merely because it tends to maht 
us happy, and forbids the contrary merely because it tends to mate us miserable ; 
just as if he had no sense of the infinite glory and excellency of his nature, 
and our infinite obligations to leve and obey him thence arising ! and just 
as if he thought it no crime in us, to treat him with the greatest contempt ! 

and 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 31 

ing every one to love his neighbor as himself, and always do 
as he would be done by, and that upon pain of eternal damna- 
tion.. ..Gal. iii. 10. — Dent, xxvii. 26. And he appears as one 
governed by a spirit of the most perfectly disinterested impar- 
tiality, in that he spared not the angels that sinned, who were 
some of the noblest of all his creatures ; and in that he is deter- 
mined not to spare impenitent sinners at the day of judgment, 
though they cry ever so earnestly for mercy ; but, above all, in 
that he spared not his only begotten Son, when he stood in the 
room of sinners. If ever any poor, guilty wretch, round the 
world, feels tempted to think that God is cruel for damning sin- 
ners, and does not do as he would be done by, if he was in their 
case, and they in his, let him come away to the cross of Christ, and 

and just as if nothing could raise his resentment but merely the injury 
done to ourselves ! expressly contrary to Numb. xiy. — II Sam. xii. 10, 14, &c. 

4. That ii-e are under no obligations to lore God, but merely because it tends 
to make us happy ; and that it is no crime to hate and blaspheme God, but 
merely because it tends to make us miserable. But if so, then the misery 
which naturally results from hating and blaspheming God, is exactly equal 
to the crime ; and therefore no positive inflicted punishment is deserved 
in this world, or in that which is to come. And, therefore, all the punish- 
ments which God inflicts upon sinners in this world, and forever in Hell, 
are entirely undeserved : and so his law and government, instead of being 
holy, just and good, are infinitely unreasonable, tyrannical and cruel. — 
To say, that God punishes some of his sinful creatures, merely to keep 
others in awe, whenas they do not, in the least, deserve any punishment, is to 
suppose the great Governor of the world to do evil, that gocd may come ; and 
yet, at the same time, to take the most direct course to render himself odious 
throughout all his dominions. It is impossible to account for the punish- 
ments which God has infiicted upon sinners in this world, and designs to 
indict upon them forever in hell, without supposing that there is an infinite 
evil in sin, over and above what results from its natural tendency to make us 
miserable : and that, therefore, we are under infinite obligations to love and 
obey God, antecedent to any consideration of its tendency to make us happy. 

From all which, it is evident, to demonstration, that right and wrong 
do neither result from the mere will and law of God, nor from any tend- 
ency of things to promote or hinder the happiness of God's creatures. It 
remains, therefore, that there is an intrinsic moral fitness and unfitness, 
absolutely in things themselves : as that we should love the infinitely glorious 
God, is, in the nature of things, infinitely fit and right ; and to hate and 
blaspheme him, is, in the nature of things, infinitely unfit and wron 
and that, antecedent to any consideration of advantage or disadvantage, 
reward or punishment, or even of the will or law of God. And hence ic 
is, that God infinitely loves right, and hates wrong, and appears so infinite- 
ly engaged to reward the one, and punish the other. And hence, his law 
and government are holy, just and good.... they are glorious ; and in and 
by them the infinite glory of the divine nature chines forth. .../m VI - 
— jRev. iv. 8 — Rev. xix. 1 — 6. 

F 



32 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

see God's pwn Son, his second self, there nailed up, naked, 
bleeding, groaning, dying, in die greatest possible contempt, ig- 
nominy and shame, before ten thousand insulting, blood-thirsty 
spectators ; and let him know that this Jesus is God — a person 
of infinitely greater dignity and worth than all creatures in heav- 
en and earth put together, and infinitely dear to the great Gov- 
ernor of the world, even just as dear as his own self, and upon 
whom he would not lay these sufferings any sooner than upon 
himself;- — I say, let him stand, and look, and gaze, and learn 
that God does exactly as he would be done by, when he damns 
sinners to all eternity, were he in their case, and they in his (if 
I may so say, when speaking of the most high God), since that 
for his own Son, a person of infinite dignity, to suffer all these 
things, is equivalent to the eternal torments of finite creatures : 
Indeed, it was not because he was not a Being of infinite good- 
ness, that he treated his own Son so ; nor is it because he has no 
regard to his creatures' happiness, that he designs to damn the 
finally impenitent ; but it is merely because sin is an infinite 
evil, and, according to strict justice, worthy of an infinite pun- 
ishment : It is right and fit that he should do as he does, and 
therefore his conduct will forever appear infinitely glorious and 
beautiful in the eyes of all holy beings. Psalm xcvi. 11, 12, 13 
....Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad : Let the sea 
roar, and the fulness thereof . Let ihef eld be joy Jul, and all 
that Is therein : Then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before 
the Lord : For he cometh, for hecometh to judge the earth : lie 
shall judge the world zvith righteousness, and the people with his 
truth. See also Rev. xix. 1 — 6. 

(6.) His infinite goodness is also discovered in his government 
of the world ; for all the laws of this great and good Governor 
are suited in their own nature to advance all his subjects to the 
highest perfection they are capable of. His law teaches us to 
view all things just as they are, and to have our will and affec- 
tion:, entirely governed by die truth — by the very reason and na- 
ture of things : And so to be according to the measure of such 
finite creatures, in our wills and in the temper of our minds, after 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 33 

the image of the blessed and glorious God, which is the highest 
dignity and perfection we are possibly capable of. Wheii God 
commands us to be holy as he is holy, he enjoins that as our duty 
which at the same time is our highest possible privilege. He 
bids us be like the angels, and begin our heaven upon earth ; 
yea, even to participate of a glory and blessedness of the same 
nature with that which he himself enjoys : To behold his glo- 
r- ....to be ravished with his beauty.... to esteem him supremely, 
live to him entirely, and delight in him superlatively, and to be- 
come like him- in our views of things, and in the temper of our 
minds, is our highest dignity, glory, and excellency, and our 
highest blessedness : And, besides, his laws are still further cal- 
culated to promote the welfare of his subjects, in that they are 
suited to establish universal love, peace and harmony, through- 
out all his dominions. Love thy neighbor as thyself, is one of 
the fundamental laws of his kingdom : And w ere his authority 
duly regarded, and his laws obeyed, love, and peace and harmo- 
ny, with all their happy and blessed effects, would reign through 
all the earth, as they do in heaven ; and paradise would not be 
confined to Eden, nor to heaven, but be all over the world. 

And the wrath of this good Governor is only revealed against 
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, which are the ru- 
in and debasement of our nature, and the destruction of our 
peace and happiness. He threatens damnation to his subjects, 
to keep them, from destroying themselves, as well as to deter 
them, from affronting his Majesty.. All the dreadful threaten- 
in gs of his law result not only from his holiness and justice, but 
also from the infinite goodness of his nature ; in that hereby his 
subjects are mercifully forwarned of the evil and bitter conse- 
quences of sin, to the end they may avoid it, He is a perfect 
enemy to hatred and revenge — to cruelty and injustice : He 
cannot bear to see the widow or fatherless oppressed, or the 
poor despised, or tho miserable insulted, or any evil thing done 
among his subjects : And therefore this good Governor has 
threatened tribulation and anguish, indignation and wrath, 
against every soul that doth evil ; and, with all his authoi 



34f TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

has commanded his subjects, through all this world, upon pain 
of eternal damnation, to do as they would be done by. 

And then, still further to engage his subjects to that in which 
their greatest giory and blessedness consists, he, in his law, 
promises eternal life to the obedient : wherein the infinite boun- 
tifulness of his nature, as w ell as his unspeakable concern for 
his creatures' welfare is discovered. 

And if we survey his conduct towards mankind, from the be- 
ginning, we ipay, in ten thousand instances, see the infinite good- 
ness of his nature displayed. If we consider what his ways 
have been towards an apostate world — how he has given his 
Son to be a Redeemer, and his spirit to be a sanctifier — how he 
has sent all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending ; 
and that notwithstanding he knew beforehand what treatment he 
would meet with from a guilty, ungrateful, God-hating world 
—how they would murder his Son, resist his spirit, and kill his 
messengers : if we consider how patient, and forbearing, and 
long-suffering he has been towards obstinate sinners — how loth 
to give them over ; swearing by himself that he delights not in 
their death, but rather that they turn and live ; even while they 
have contemned and affronted him in the vilest manner : and if 
we consider his distinguishing favors towards his elect, and the 
marvellous things which he has wrought for his church and peo- 
ple ; — I say, if we consider these things, and, at the same time, 
look round the world and behold the innumerable common fa- 
vors strewed abroad among guilty, hell-deserving rebels, we 
must be forced to own, that he is good to all, and that his ten- 
der mercies are over all his works. 

His goodness, indeed, is evidently as unbounded as his power. 
There is no act of kindness, which his omnipotency is able to do, 
but that there is goodness enough in his heart to prompt him to do 
it, if, all things considered, it is best to be done : His propensi- 
ty to do good is fully equal to his ability. All the treasures 
and good things of this lower world are his, and he gives all to 
the children of men ; and we should have enjoyed all, without 
the least sorrow intermixed, had not our sin and apostacy made 



DISTINGUISHED f ROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 35 

it necessary for him to give some testimony of his displeasure : 
and yet, even the calamities of life are well adapted, in our pres- 
ent state, to do us good. All the treasures and glories of heav- 
en are his, and he offers all to a guilty world, and actually gives 
all to such as are willing to accept of all, through the mediator, 
in the way prescribed — and what can he give more I Can he 
give his only begotten son to die for sinners ? Behold, he has 
a heart to do it ! Can he give his holy spirit to recover poor 
sinners to God ? Behold, he has a heart to do it.. ..is as ready 
to give his holy spirit to them that ask, as parents are to give 
bread to their children ! And, finally, can he, in any sense, give 
himself to his creatures ? Behold, he is willing to do so. ...to bs 
their God, and father, and portion, and be all things to them, 
and do all things for them, if they will but accept of him through 
Jesus Christ ! So that, as I said, his propensity to do good is 
fully equal to his ability : And there is no doubt but that he 
does show all those kindnesses to his intelligent creatures, 
which, all things considered, are best should be shown. And 
his understanding is infinite, whereby he is able to determine 
exactly what is best in the whole. Thy mercy, Lord, is in 
the heavens ; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds : How 
excellent is thy loving kindness, OGodl Therefore the children 
of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.... Psalm 
xxxvi. 5, 7. 

And such is the goodness of his nature, and so much good- 
ness has he in his heart, that he needs no motive to excite him to 
do good ; i. e. nothing from without : Thus, unmoved and un- 
excited by any thing from without himself, of his own mere 
goodness, he did, in the days of eternity, determine to do ail 
that good, which ever will by him be done, to all eternity, when 
there was nothing existing but himself, and so nothing to move 
him but his own good pleasure : Yea, such is the goodness of 
his nature, that he not only needs no motive from without to 
excite him to do good, but even then, when there are all things to 
the contrary — even every thing in his creatures to render them 
ill-deserving, and to discourage and hinder his shewing mercy, 



36 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

and to provoke him to wrath' — even then, when discourage- 
ments are infinitely great, and provocations are innumerable ; 
yea, when there is nothing in his creature but what is of the na- 
ture of a provocation — even, in such a case, he can show mer- 
cy ; yea, the greatest of mercies. He can give his son to die 
for such, and his holy spirit to sanctify them, and himself at last to 
be their God and father, and everlasting portion : Such is the in- 
comparable goodness of his nature. Who is a God tike iinto 
thee ! hc....Mic. vii. 18, 19. — But then he is at liberty, in such 
cases, and may act according to his own discretion, and have 
mercy on whom he will have mercy, and have compassion on 
whom he will have compassion ; and, truly, it is infinitely fit he 
should. To act sovereignly, in such cases, is infinitely becom- 
ing ; and, indeed, it is fit he should dispense all his favors ac- 
cording to his sovereign pleasure : It is fit he should do what 
he will with his own. Pie knows best how to exercise h*s own 
goodness, and it is perfectly fit that he should be at liberty, and 
act according to his own discretion.... according to the counsel 
of his own will. And because it is infinitely fit, therefore he ac- 
tually does so.. ..Eph. i. 11. He passed by the angels that sin- 
ned, and pitied sinful men ; he passed by the rest of the world, 
and chose the seed of Abraham ; he suffers thousands of sin- 
ners to go on in their sins and perish, and, in the mean time, 
seizes here and there one by his all-conquering grace, and effec- 
tually saves them ; and all according to his sovereign pleasure, 
because it seems good in his sight so to do. And the reason 
why he acts sovereignly, is because, in the nature of things, it is 
fit he should ; therefore, his sovereignty is a holy and a glorious 
sovereignty. Hence, when Moses desired to see his glory, he 
discovered this unto him. ...Exod. xxxiii. 12. And because our 
Savior saw how fit and becoming it was for God to act as a 
sovereign, in bestowing his favors, therefore he saw a glory in 
his sovereignty, and so rejoiced in it.... Mat. xi. 25,26. And 
sovereign grace is glorious grace in the eyes of every one who 
views things aright, and has aright frame of heart. Consid- 
ering that all God has is his 0Tiw....that he knows infinitely the 



DISTINGUISHED FR031 ALL COUNTERFEITS. 37 

best what to do with what he /z&s....that there can be no motive 
from without to excite him to act, it is infinitely fit he should be 
left to himself, to act according to his own discretion ; and it is 
infinite impudence for a worm of the dust to intermeddle or go 
about to direct the almighty and infinitely wise God ; and it is 
infinite wickedness to dislike his conduct, and find fault with 
his dispensations. 

Indeed, if there was nothing of greater worth and importance 
than the happiness of his creatures and subjects, and so nothing 
that he ought to have a greater regard to and concern for, then 
it is not to be supposed that any of his creatures and subjects 
would be finally miserable. The infinitely good Governor of 
the world has a great regard to the happiness of his subjects : 
their welfare is very dear to him, and their misery, in itself, or 
for its own sake, very undesirable in his sight ; yet he has so 
much greater regard to something else, that, in some instances, 
he actually dees suffer sinners to go on in their sins and perish 
forever : yea, he will inflict the eternal torments of hell upon 
them. The goodness of God is a holy, wise and rational good- 
ness, and not an unreasonable fondness : He will never do a 
wrong thing, to oblige any of his creatures : no, he had rather 
the ti hole world should be damned ; yea, that even his own Son 
should die : Nor will he ever communicate good to any one, 
when, all things considered, it is not best and wisest. When 
he first designed to create the world, and first laid out his whole 
scheme of government, as it was easy for him to have determin- 
ed, that neither angels nor men should ever sin, and that misery 
should never be heard of in all his dominions, so he could ea- 
sily have prevented both sin and misery. Why did he not ? — 
Surely, not for want of goodness in his nature ; for that is infi- 
nite : — not from any thing like cruelty ; for there is no such thing 
in him : — not for want of a suitable regard to the happiness of 
his creatures ; for that he always has : But it was because, in 
his infinite w isdom,he did not think it best in the whole. It was 
not because he had not sufficient power to preserve angels and 
men all holy and happy ; for it is certain he had : — it was not be- 



33 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

/ 

cause preventing grace would have been inconsistent with their 
being free agents ; for it would not : — it was not because he did 
not thoroughly consider and weigh the thing with all its conse- 
quences ; for it is certain he did : But, upon the whole, all 
things considered, he judged it best to permit the angels to sin 
and man to fall ; and so let misery enter into his dominions. 
It did not come to pass accidentally and unawares, and contrary 
to what God had ever thought of or intended ; because it is cer- 
tain that he knew all things from the beginning ; and it is certain 
that, in an affair of such a nature, and of such consequence, he 
could not stand by as an idle, unconcerned spectator, that cares 
not which way things go. There is no doubt, therefore, but 
that, all things considered, he thought it best to permit things to 
come to pass just as they did : And, if he thought it best, it was 
best ; for his understanding is infinite — his wisdom unerring, 
and so he can never be mistaken. But why was it best ? What 
could he have in view preferable to the happiness of his crea- 
tures ? And if their happiness was to him above all things most 
dear, how could he bear the thoughts of their ever, any of them, 
being miserable ? — Why, it is certain he thought it best ; and 
therefore it is certain he had a view to something else besides 
merely the happiness of his creatures — to something of greater 
importance, and more worthy to bear a governing sway in his 
mind, by which it became him to be above all things influenced, 
in laying out and contriving how things should proceed and be 
disposed in the world he designed to create. 

But what was that thing which was of greater worth and im- 
portance, and so more worthy to bear a governing sway in his 
mind, and to which he had the greatest regard, making all oth- 
er things give way to this ? What was his grand endm creating 
and governing the world ? Why, look.. ..what end he is at last 
like to obtain, when the whole scheme is finished, and the day 
of judgment past, and heaven and hell filled with all their pro- 
per inhabitants : And what will be the final result ? What will 
he get by all ? Why, in all, he will exert and display every one 
of his perfections to the life, and so, by all, will exhibit a most 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 39 

perfect and exact image of himself. And now, as he is infinite- 
ly glorious in being what he is, therefore that scheme of conduct 
which is perfectly suited to exhibit die most lively and exact 
image of him, must be infinitely glorious too : And, therefore, 
this is the greatest and best thing he can aim at in all'his works ; 
and this, therefore, ought to be his last end. Now, it is evi- 
dent that the fall of the angels and of man, together with all 
those things which have and will come to pass in consequence 
thereof, and occasioned thereby, from the beginning of the world 
to the day of judgment, and throughout eternity, will serve to 
give a much more lively and perfect representation of God, than 
could possibly have been exhibited, had there never been any 
sin or misery. The holiness and justice — the goodness, mercy, 
and grace of God shine much more brightly : They have been 
displayed with an astonishing lustre and glory in the death of 
Christ, and will be displayed forever in heaven and in hell, as 
they could not have been, had not sin and misery ever been per- 
mitted to enter into God's world : Indeed, if, in the nature of 
things, it had been wrong for God to have permitted any of his 
creatures to sin, and then to punish them for it — if God had 
been bound in duty, or in goodness, to keep them from sin, or 
to save them when they had sinned, then the case had been oth- 
erwise : But since, in the nature of things, it was fit he should 
be at liberty, and act according to his own discretion ; and since 
the end he had in view was so noble and godlike, his conduct 
in this affair was infinitely right, fit and becoming, and so infi- 
nitely glorious. Certainly God thought it was so, or he would 
not have done as he did ; and therefore, if we view things as 
God did, and have a temper and frame of heart like unto his, 
we shall think so too : And, as I said before, it is horrid pride 
and impudence for us to pretend to know better than the infinite- 
ly wise God, and infinite wickedness for us to pretend to find 
fault with his conduct....^???, ix. 19 — 23.* Thus, if he had 

* OBj....But surely it could not be consistent with the divine good 
from all eternity, to decree the everlasting misery of his creatures. 

A N T s . 



40 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

aimed merely at the happiness of his creatures, he could easily 
have so ordered that Pharaoh should willingly have let Israel 
go, and he could have led Israel in less than forty days to the 
promised land, and put them into an immediate possession : 
but there was something else which he had a greater regard to ; 
and therefore Pharaoh's heart is hardened, and all his won- 
ders are wrought in the land of Egypt. The tribes of Israel 
march to the borders of the Red-Sea,,.. the sea parts.... Israel 
goes through, but the Egyptians are drowned. And now Is- 
rael is tempted and tried, and they sin and rebel, and so are 
doomed to wander forty years in the wilderness, and to have 
their carcases fall there. And why was all this ? Why, because 
his design was to display all his perfections, and fill the whole 
earth with his glory... Exod. ix. 16 — Numb. xiv. 21, And now, 
because it is the most noble thing that God can have in view, 
to act forth all his perfections to the life, and so exhibit the most 
exact representation of himself in his works ; therefore, it is in- 
finitely fit he should make this his last end, and all other things 
subservient ; and his conduct in so doing is infinitely beauti- 
ful and glorious. Thus we see how the goodness of God is dis- 
played in his government of the world, and see that it is an un- 
bounded, rich, free goodness ; and that all the exercises of it 
are sovereign, and under the direction of his infinite wisdom : 
so that God is infinitely glorious on the account of this perfec- 
tion of his nature.. ..Exod. xxxiiu 19. & xxxiv. 5, 6, 7. — Rom. 
ix — Eph. i. 1 — 12. 

(7) His unchangeable truth and faithfulness are also discov- 
ered in his government of the world > and that in the fulfilment 
of his promises, and the execution of his threatenings. Did he 

ANS....God has in fact permitted sin to enter into the world — does in 
fact permit many to die in their sins — will in fact punish them forever ; 
and all consistent with the infinite goodness of his nature, as every one 
must acknowledge. And since it is consistent with his goodness to do as 
be docs, it was consistent with his goodness, to determine with himself be- 
forehand to do so .-...What Go&,from eternity, decreed to do, that God, in 
time, will do : therefore, if all God's conduct be holy, just and gocd, so 
also are all his decrees ,• unless we can suppose it to be wrong for the infi- 
nitely wise God, from all eternity, to determine upon a conduct in all res- 
pects right : than which nothing can be more absurd. 



DISTINGUISHED 5R0M ALL COUNTERFEITS. 41 

promise to be Abraham's God ? So he was. Did he promise 
to give the land of Canaan to his seed for an inheritance ? So 
he did. Did he promise to send his Son into the world, and to 
set him up a kingdom upon earth ? Even so he has done : And 
he is in like manner true and faithful to all his promises, which 
he has made to his people* And did he threatens drown the 
old world.. ..to make Israel wander forty years in the wilder- 
ness. ...to deliver them into the hands of their enemies, at what 
time soever they should forsake him, and go and serve other 
gods, and,, finally, to send them captives into Babylon for sev- 
enty years I Even so he has done. God's, word may always 
be depended upon ; for what he designs, that he says ; and what 
he says, that he will do. And this is another of the glorious 
perfections of his nature. 

Thus all the perfections of God are discovered in his gov- 
ernment of the world. By his conduct we may see what he is, 
and learn the very temper of his heart. And now, I might go 
through his- other works. ...his redeeming, justifying, sanctify- 
ing sinners, and bringing them to eternal glory at last,andshew 
how his- glorious perfections shine forth in them. But I have 
already hinted at some of these things, and shall have occasion 
afterwards to view the divine perfections shining forth in these 
works of God, when I come to consider the nature of the gos- 
pel. Sufficient has been said to answer my present purpose ; 
and, therefore, for brevity's sake, I will proceed no further here. 
Thus, then, we see how the perfections of God are manifested 
in his works. 

Secondly. The same representation is made of God in his 
word : For these great works of God.. ..his creating, preserv- 
ing and governing the worlds... his redeeming, sanctifying and 
saving sinners, are the subject-matter of all the Bible. God, in 
his works, acts out his perfections, and, in his word, lays the 
whole before our eyes in writing. Therein he has told Us what 
he has done, and what he intends to do ; and so has delineated 
his glorious perfections in the plainest manner. In his x'jordj 
God has revealed himself to the children of men. v .hau gnanifest- 



42 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

ed and shewn what he is. But how ? Why, by declaring and 
holding forth his works, as that in which he has exhibited the 
image of himself. Thus, the scriptures begin with an account 
of God's creating the world, and goes on throughout all the Old 
Testament, informing how he preserves and governs it : And, 
then, in the New Testament, we are informed more particularly 
how he redeems, justifies, sanctifies, and saves sinners. And 
now, as the actions of a man discover the temper and disposi- 
tion of his heart, and shew what he is, so the works of God, 
from first to last, all taken together, hold forth an exact repre- 
sentation of himself. If we will begin with God's creating, the 
world, and survey all his conduct in the light of scripture.... his 
conduct towards man before the fall, and after the fall.. ..his con- 
duct towards Abel and Cain, Enoch and Noah, and all the old 
world.... his conduct towards Lot and Sodom — towards Abra- 
ham, Isaac and Jacob, and Joseph — towards the children of Is- 
rael, in Egypt, at the Red-Sea, in the wilderness, at Sinai, at 
Massah, at Taberah, &c....and in the times of Joshua, of their 
Judges, of their Kings, he. and then come into the New 
Testament, and survey his conduct with relation to the redemp- 
tion and salvation of sinners, and then look forward to the great 
judgment-day, and see his whole scheme finished.... see the re- 
sult, the conclusion and end of all ; look up to heaven and take 
a view of that world, and look down to hell and survey the state 
of things there ; from the .whole we may see what God is : for, 
in the whole, God exerts his nature, and, by the whole, God de- 
signs to exhibit an exact representation of himself. And, then, 
are our apprehensions of God right, and according to truth, 
when we take in that very representation which he has made of 
himself : And now to account him infinitely glorious in being 
what he is, and to love him with all our hearts, because he is 
what he is, is the very thing which the law of God requires. 

And, indeed, so plain is that representation which God has 
made of himself, by his works and in his word ; and he is really 
so infinitely glorious in being what he is, that were not mankind, 
through their exceeding great depravity, entirely void of a right 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALT. COUNTERFEITS. 43 

taste and relish for true beauty, they could not but be even rav- 
ished with the divine Being. They would naturally feel as they 
do in heaven, and naturally speak their language, Holy, holy, 
holy, is the Lord of hosts ; the whole earth is full of his glory ! 
....Isai. vi. 3. But such is the vile temper of sinful, apostate 
creatures, that they are not only blind to the moral excellency 
of the divine nature, but are even in a stated, habitual contrari- 
ety to God in the frame of their hearts.. .. Rom. viii. 7. And 
hence, the manifestation which God has made of himself, can 
find no place in their hearts.... John viii. 37. They cannot 
attend to things of such a nature, (verse 43. J because so disa- 
greeable to their taste ; for ( verse 47. J He that is cfGod,hear- 
eth God's word ; ye, therefore, hear them not, because ye are not 
of God. It is hard to bring unregenerate men so much as to 
have right notions of what God is, because he is a Being^ in his 
nature so contrary and disagreeable to them. They do not like 
to retain God in their knowledge. ...Rom. i. 28. Men had 
rather that God was another kind of Being, different from what 
he really is, and more like themselves — one that would suit their 
temper, and serve their interest ; and, therefore, they frame 
such an one in their own fancy, and then fall down and worship 
the false image which they have set up. From hence it is, that 
all those false notions of God have taken their rise, which have 
always filled the world. But w^ere men brought to have right 
notions of what God is, and to take in that ve. representation 
which he has made of himself, by his works and in his word ; yet 
they would be so far from accounting him infinitely glorious in 
being what he is, that they would see no form or comeliness in 
him wherefore they should desire him : but would feel the like 
malignant spirit towards him as the jews did towards their pro- 
phets, and towards Christ and his apostles, only in a worse de- 
gree. The same temper which caused the exercise of such en- 
mity towards their prophets, and towards Christ and his apos- 
tles, would have caused as great or greater towards God him- 
self, had they but had right notions of him. And the clearer 
apprehension a sinner has of God, the more will his enmity ex- 



44 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

ert itself ; because a sinful nature and a holy nature are dia* 
metrically opposite to each other : And, therefore, the clearest 
external revelation of God cannot bring sinners to love him. — 
All the world will see just what kind of Being he is at the day 
of judgment, and that in a very plain and clear manner : But 
yet they whose nature it is to hate him for being what he is, will 
hate him still ; yea, hate him more than ever : And, therefore, 
besides the external revelation which God has made of himself, 
by his works and in his word, there is an absolute necessity th^it 
he should internally reveal himself in his glory to the heart of a 
sinner, in order to beget divine love there : Which brings me 
to add, 

Thirdly. God reveals his infinite glory in being what he is in 
the hearts of sinners, by his holy spirit. ...Mat. xi-. 25, 27. By 
his works and in his word he has revealed what he is, and that 
in a manner sufficiently plain — even so plainly that there is no 
need at ail of any further objective revelation ; and he is really 
infinitely glorious in being what he is : Now, therefore, if we 
would rightly attend to that revelation which God has made of 
himself, we could not but have right apprehensions of him ; and 
if we had a good taste for true beauty, we could not but be rav- 
ished with his glory : but we are naturally disinclined to right 
apprehensions of God, and are entirely destitute of a true taste 
for moral beauty : And hence we may learn what kind of in- 
ward illumination we stand in need of from the spirit of God. 
We do not need the holy spirit to reveal any nertv truths concern- 
ing God, not already revealed ; for the external revelation which 
he has made of himself, is sufficiently full: — we do not need to 
have the holy spirit immediately reveal all these truths con- 
cerning God over again to us, by way of objective revelation, or 
immediate inspiration ; because the external revelation already 
made is sufficiently plain : We only need (1) to be effectually 
awakened, to attend to those manifestations which he has made 
of himself in his works and word, that we may see what he is : 
And (2) to have a spiritual taste imparted to us, by the imme- 
diate influence of the Holy Ghost, that we may have a sense of 



DISTINGUISHED TROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 45 

his infinite glory in being such : For these two will lay an effec- 
tual foundation in our hearts for that love which the law re- 
quires. By the common infiences of the spirit, we may be awa- 
kened to a realizing sight and sense of what God is ; and, by the 
special and sanctifying influences of the spirit, we may receive a 
sense ofhis infinite glory in being such : And also the sense of his 
glory will naturally cause us to see more clearly what God is : 
for a sense of the moral excellency of the divine nature fixes our 
thoughts on God ; and the more our thoughts are fixed, the 
more distinctly we see what he is : And while we see him to be 
what he is, and see his infinite glory in being such, hereby a di- 
vine love is naturally enkindled in our hearts. And thus, He 
that commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shines in our 
hearts, and gives us the light of the knowledge of the glory of 
God : And so we all, with open face, behold, as in a glass, tlie 
glory of the Lord, and are changed into the same image... II Cor. 
iii. 18. and iv. 6. A sight of the moral excellency of the di- 
vine nature makes God appear infinitely glorious in every res- 
pect. Those things in God, which before appeared exceeding 
dreadful, now appear unspeakably glorious : His sovereignty ap- 
pears glorious, because now we see he is fit to be a sovereign, 
and tkat it is fit and right he should do what he will with his 
own : His justice appears glorious, because now we see the in- 
finite evil of sin ; and a consideration ofhis infinite understand- 
ing and almighty power enhances his glory : And while we view 
what he is, and see his greatness and glory, and consider his 
original, entire, underived right to all things, we begin to see 
why he assumes the character of most high God, supreme Lord, 
and sovereign Governor of the whole world ; and we resign t 
throne to him, and take our places, and become his willing sub- 
jects ; and our hearts are framed to love him, and fear him, and 
trust in him through jesus Christ ; and we give up ourselves 
to him, to walk in all his ways and keep all his commands, seek- 
ing his glory : And thus a sight and sense of the infinite digni- 
ty, greatness, glory and excellency of the most high God, lays 
the first foundation for a divine love. God's being what he is. 



46 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

is the primary reason that he requires us to love him with all our 
hearts ; and it is the first motive of a genuine love. 

I might now pass on to consider the additional obligations we 
are under to love God ; but that it may be profitable to stop a 
while, and a little consider the nature and properties of this jirst 
and greatest and most fundamental obligation ; and take a view 
of some important consequences necessarily following therefrom. 
And here, 

1. This obligation is binding antecedently to any considera- 
tion of advantage or disadvantage — of rewards or punishments ; 
and even prior to any consideration of the positive will and law 
of God himself 

2. It is infinitely binding. 

3. It is eternally binding. 

4. It is unchangeably binding. 

5. It is that from which all other obligations originally derive 
their binding nature. 

1. This obligation which we are under, to love God with all 
our hearts, resulting from the infinite excellency of the divine 
nature, is binding antecedently to any consideration of advantage 
or disadvantage — of rewards or punishments, or even of the pos- 
itive will and law of God himself To love God with all our 
hearts naturally tends to make us happy ; and the contrary to 
make us miserable ; and there are glorious rewards promised 
on the one hand, and dreadful punishments threatened on the 
other ; and God, as Governor of the world, has, with all his au- 
thority, by his law, expressly required us to love him with all 
our hearts, and forbidden the contrary ; and all these things are 
binding ; but yet the infinite excellency of the divine nature 
lays us under bonds prior to any consideration of these things : 
So that if our interest did not at all lie at stake, and if there had 
never been any express law in the case, yet it would be right, 
and our indispensable duty, to love God with all our hearts. — ■ 
His being infinitely lovely in himself, makes it our duty to love 
him ; for he is, in himself, worthy of our highest esteem : He 
deserves it ; it is, in the nature of things, his due : and that an- 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 47 

tecedent to any selfish consideration, or any express law in the 
case. To suppose the contrary, is to deny the infinite amiable* 
ness of the divine nature, and to take away the very foundation 
of the law itself, and the very reason of all rewards and punish- 
ments : For if our supreme love is not due to God, then he is 
not infinitely lovely -, and if he does not deserve to be loved 
with all our hearts, why does he require it ? And if, in the na- 
ture of things, it is not right and fit that we should love him, 
and, the contrary, unfit and wrong, w~hat grounds are there for 
rewards or punishments ? So that it is evident, the infinite ex- 
cellency of the divine nature binds us, and makes it our duty, 
antecedent to any consideration of advantage or disadvantage, 
rewards or punishments, or even of the positive will and law of 
God, to love God with all our hearts ; and therefore our love 
must primarily take its rise from a sense of this infinite excel- 
lency of the divine nature, as has been before observed ; and that 
seeming love, which arises merely from selfish considerations, 
from the fear of punishment or hope of reward, or because the 
law requires it, and so it is a duty and must be done, is not gen- 
uine ; but is a selfish, a mercenary, and a forced thing. How 
evidently, therefore, do those discover their hypocrisy, who are 
wont to talk after the following manner : — -" If I am elected, I 
" shall be saved, let me do what I will ; and if I am not elect- 
" ed, I shall be damned, let me do what I can : and therefore it 
u is no matter how I live." And again after this sort...." If I 
" knew certainly that God had made no premises to the duties 
" of the unregenerate, as some pretend, I would never do any 
u more in religion." Surely, they had as good say that they 
have no regard at all to the infinite excellency of the divine na- 
ture, but are entirely influenced by selfish and mercenary mo- 
tives in all they do : They do not seem to understand that they 
under infinite obligations to love God with all their hearts, 
and obey him in every thing, resulting from God's being what. 
he is, and that antecedent to all selfish considerations • — such 
know not God.... I. John^ iii. 6. 

H 



48 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

2. This obligation, resulting from the intrinsic excellency 
and amiableness of the divine nature, is infinitely binding /be- 
cause this excellency and amiableness is in itself infinite. Our 
obligation arises fronvhis desert ; but he infinitely deserves our 
love, because he is infinitely lovely. When any person is love- 
ly and honorable, reason teaches us that we ought to love and 
honor him, and that it is wrong to dislike and despise him : 
And the more lovely and honorable, the greater is our obligation 
to love and honor him ; and the more aggravatedly vile is it to 
treat him with contempt. Since, therefore, God is a Being of 
infinite dignity, greatness, glory and excellency, hence we are 
under an infinite obligation to love him with all our hearts ; and 
it is infinitely wrong not to do so : Since he is infinitely w r orthy 
to be honored and obeyed by us, therefore we are under an in- 
finite obligation to honor and obey him ; and that with all our 
heart and soul, and mind and strength. Hence, 

[1.] Perfect love and perfect obedience deserve no thanks at 
his hands. If we perfectly love him, even with all our hearts, 
and give up ourselves entirely and forever to him, to do his 
will and seek his glory, and so cordially delight in him as to take 
up our full and everlasting contentment in him ; yet, in all this, 
we do but our duty, and we do no more than what we are un- 
der an infinite obligation to do ; and, therefore, we deserve no 
thanks. ...Luke xvii. 9, 10. — Yea, we do nothing but that in 
which consists our highest perfection, glory, and blessedness ; 
and, therefore, instead of deserving thanks, we ought to ac- 
count it an exceeding great privilege that we may thus love the 
Lord, live to him, and live upon Yam.... Psalm xix. 10. 

When, therefore, eternal life was promised in the first cove- 
nant as the reward of perfect obedience, it was not under the 
notion of any thing being merited; nor did it ever enter into 
the hearts of the angels in heaven to imagine they merited any 
thing by all their love and service ; for, from their very hearts, 
they all join to say, Worthy art thou, Lord, to receive glory, 
and honor, and praise forever. And they deserve no thanks for 
their doing so, for they but own the very truth. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 49 

When, therefore,. sinful men, poor, hell-deserving creatures, 
think it much that they should love and serve God so well, and 
take so great pains in religion ; and are ready to think that God 
and man ought highly to value them for their so doing, and are 
alwavs telling God and man how mighty good they are ; as he, 
Luke xviii. 11, 12~. .God, I. thank thee, I am not as other men 
are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican ;— 
no, far from this, I am one of the best men in all the world—/ 
fast txvice in the week. ...I give tythes of all that I possess >, This 
appeared to him such a mighty thing, that he thought it quite 
worth while to tell God himself of it. Now, I say, when this 
is men's temper, it is a sign they neither know God, nor love 
him ; for, if they did, they could not set so high a price upon 
their duties, since he is so infinitely deserving : The plain truth 
is, such have intolerable meandioughts of God, and intolerable 
high thoughts of themselves — they are brim-full of spiritual 
pride and self-righteousness ; and such are exceedingly hateful 
in the sight of God. They implicitly say that God is not infi- 
nitely glorious, and infinitely worthy of all love and honor — he 
does not deserve it.. .it is not his due i hut rather he is behold- 
en to his creatures for it, and ought to render them many thanks 
for their love and service.. The language of their hearts is, 
God has so little loveliness that it is much to love him : Like a 
bad mother-in-law, who thinks it nothing to toil for her own 
children, because she loves them ; but grudges every step she 
takes for the rest, and thinks every little a great deal, because 
she cares not for them : So, such men think it nothing to rise 
early and sit up late, to get the world.... to get riches, honor 
and pleasure ; for they love themselves : but think it much to 
take the tenth part of the pains in religion ; because they love 
not God. Their whole frame of mind casts infinite contempt 
upon the glorious majesty of heaven, to whom all honor is in- 
finitely due, and in whose service all the hosts of heaven ac- 
count themselves perfectly blessed : They feel as if they de- 
served to be paid for all. 



50 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

True, there are glorious rewards promised in the law and 
in the gospel : But why ? and upon what grounds ? A man 
may be said to be rewarded in three different senses. (1.) 
When he receives what he strictly deserves, as an hireling re- 
ceives his wages at night. But, in this sense, the angels in heav- 
en are not capable of a reward : for, in strict justice, they de- 
serve nothing.... Luke xvii* 9, 10 — Rom. xi. 35. They are no 
hirelings, for God has a natural, original, underived right to 
them, as much as he has to the sun, moon and stars ; and 
these, therefore, deserve to be paid for their shining, as much 
as the angels do for their working. Besides, if the angels do 
love God, it is no more than he infinitely deserves. And far- 
ther, the services of angels do not profit God, and so lay him 
under no obligations, any more than the birds profit the rising 
sun by their morning-songs, and so lay the sun under obliga- 
tions to shine all day. Job xxii. 2, o*.<.Cana man be profitable 
unto God, as he thai is raise may be profitable unto himself? Is 
it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous ? or is 
it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect ? And yet, 
even in this gross sense, self-righteous persons feel, at heart, as 
if they deserved a reward for their good duties ; though per- 
haps they are not willing to own it. Hence, they are so apt to 
think it would be very hard^ unjust and cruel, if God should 
damn them for their past sins, notwithstanding all their good 
duties. Isa* lviii. 3. ...Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and 
thou seest not P But, (2.) A man may be said to be rewarded, 
when, although, in strict justice, he deserves nothing; yet he re- 
ceives great favors at the hands of God, in testimony of the divine 
approbation of his person and services-. And thus, the angels 
in heaven, though they deserve nothing, yet have eternal life 
bestowed upon them, as a reward to their perfect obedience, in 
testimony of the divine approbation* God rewards them, not 
because they do him any good, nor because they deserve any 
thing at his hands ; but because he infinitely loves righteousness, 
and to appear as an infinite friend to this, in his public conduct, 
as moral Governor of the world. The most that can be said 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 51 

©f the holiest angel in heaven, is, that he is fit to be approved 
in the sight of God, because he is perfectly such as God re- 
quires him to be. And now, because God loves to put honor 
upon virtue, and to exercise the infinite bountifulness of his 
nature, therefore he gives them the reward of eternal life. 
And thus God promises us eternal life, upon condition of per- 
fect obedience, in the first covenant : as if God had said, " If 
" vou will love me with all your heart, and obey me in every 
16 thing, as you are bound in duty to do ; then, although you will 
" deserve nothing, yet, as becomes a holy and good God.. ..a 
M kind and bountiful Governor, I will make you everlastingly 
" blessed in the enjoyment of myself ; and that in testimony 
" of my approbation of your perfect and steady fidelity." And 
so, by covenant and promise, this reward would have been due, 
had the condition been performed. Hence, that in Rom. iv. 4 
....Notv to him that worketh, is the rexvard not reckoned of grace, 
but of debt. And now here self-righteous persons are wont 
to come in with their works, and insist upon their right, and 
plead the reason of things, as well as the promise. " If we do 
" (say they) as well as we can, which is all that God does or 
" can in justice require of us, surely he will accept of us — it 
" would be cruel to cast us off — his goodness and faithfulness are 
*' engaged for us :" Just as if they had now made full amends 
for all their past sins, by their repentance and reformation ; and 
grown to be as good as angels, by taking some little pains in 
religion ! For the best angd in heaven does not pretend to any 
other title to blessedness than this ; namely, that he has done 
as well as he can, and that this is all that God has required, and 
although he is an unprofitable servant, yet he depends upon the 
promise, the goodness and faithfulness of his bountiful Creator. 
Indeed, self-righteous persons may pretend to expect all for 
Christ* s sake ; and say, that what they do, only entitles them 
to an interest in him ; but it is all mere pretence ; for still they 
think that God is bound to give them an interest in Christ and 
eternal life, if they do as well as they can ; and would think 
God dealt very hardly with them, if he did not : So that their 



£2 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

real dependance, at bottom, is upon their own goodness, their 
own worth or worthiness, to make amends for past sins, and 
recommend them to God, and entitle them to all things ; the 
infinite absurdity of which will be evident presently. Again, 
(3.) A man may be said to be rewarded, when he neither de- 
serves any thing, nor is it fitting that his person and conduct, 
considered merely as they are in themselves, should be approv- 
ed ; but ought to be condemned, according to reason, and ac- 
cording to God's righteous law, they being so sinfully defec- 
tive ; nevertheless, such a man may be said to be rewarded, 
*.7hen, merely on the account of his interest in the righteousness 
and worthiness of Christ, his person and performances are 
accepted, and peculiar favors shewn him* And in this way 
are believers accepted, according to the covenant of grace, and 
entitled to the reward of eternal life : Phil. iii. 8, 9 — Eph. i. 6 
—I Pet. ii. 5. Now, those who look for a reward in this way, 
will be so far from thinking it much, which they have done for 
God, that they will forever set all down for nothing, and worse 
than nothing,* their best duties being so sinfully defective ; and 
judge themselves worthy of hell every day, and every moment : 
And all their dependance will be on Christ's worthiness, and 
the free grace of God through him : Luke xviii. 13 — Rom. iii. 
24. And all that is said in the New Testament about God's 
rewarding the believer's good works, being viewed in this light, 
gives not the least countenance to a self-righteous spirit, but 

* IVirse than nothing.... Note. I do not mean, that an imperfect, and very 
defective conformity to the law is worse, and more odious in God's sight, 
than no conformity at all ; but only, that there is more odiousness than 
amiablencss in such defective services : and that, therefore, we are, in the 
sight of God, on their account, more proper objects of hatred and punish- 
ment, than of love and reward, if considered merely as in ourselves, with- 
out any respect to our relation to Christ : so that, in point of recommend- 
ing ourselves to God, we do, by our best duties, thus considered, rather dis- 
commend ourselves in his sight. ...and, in this sense, they are worse than 
nothing : they are even so far from paying our constant dues, that, in the 
sight of God, they constantlv run us into debt. We are infinitely to blame 
in our best frames and best duties, and have not any thing in them, which 
tend.?, in GodV. sight, in the least degree, to counterbalance our blame. — ■ 
But if any are desirous to see this point fully explained and proved, and 
all objections answered, I refer them to Mr. Edwards's excellent discourse 
«n justification by faith alone. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 6S 

militates directly against it : And, indeed, if we were as per- 
fect as the angels in heaven, it appears, from what has been 
said, that we should deserve no thanks. It is impudent, there- 
fore, and wicked — it is contemptuous — and, in a sort, blasphe- 
mous, and most God-provoking, for a proud, conceited 
Pharisee, to feel as he does in his self-righteous frames. — 
And God might expostulate with such an one in this man- 
ner : "What, is there so little lovelines in me ? And is it so 
4t great, so hard, so self-denying, to love me, that you think it 
<c such a mighty thing ! and expect now, that all past sins shall 
"be forgiven, and my favor secured, for this good frame ! yea, 
"and that I shall give you heaven into the bargain ? What, 
"your obligations to me so small, that I must be so re be* 

4 'holden to you for your love ? What, did you never hear that I 
" was the Lord ! and that it was I that stretched abroad the heav- 
"ens! and tha are my clay, whom I formed and fashion- 

"ed for myself? — Begone, tboii impudent wretch, to hell, thy 
u proper place: thou art a despiser of my glorious majesty, 
"and your frame of spirit savors of blasphemy : Know it, I am 
" not so mean as you imagine, nor at all beholden to you t r 
" your love." And this is one reason that the sacr the 

wicked is such an abomination to the Lord; not only when 
prav with a view to recommend themselves to their fellow-nv.n, 
but also when, in doing their best, they only design to ingratiate 
themselves with God. Prov. xxi. 27...*Tke sacrifice of the 
wicked is abomination (even his very best) : how much more 
win \ it with a wicked mind ? The infinite great- 

ness, glory and excellency of God, and the infinite obligation 
thence resulting which we are under to love him with all our 
hearts, and obej him in every thing, renders a self-righteous 
spirit unspeakably odious, and infinitely p king in the eyes 
of a holy God, But this will appear still p lahu ler the next 
particular. To proceed, therefore, 

[2.] If we are under an i ition to love God su- 

premely, live to him ultimately, and take everlasting delight in 
hi in, because of his infinite excellency, then the least 



54 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

disposition to disesteem him,. ..to be indifferent about his inter- 
est and honor, or to disrelish communion with him ; or the least 
disposition to love ourselves more than God, and be more con- 
cerned about our interest and honor than about his, and to be 
pleased and delighted in the things of the world, more than in 
him, must) consequently, be in finitely sinful,* as is self-evident. 

When, therefore, the great Governor of the world threatens 
eternal damnation -for the least sin, (as in Gal. iii. 10.) he does 
the thing that is perfectly right ; for an infinite evil deserves 
an infinite punishment. 

Hence, also, it is no wonder that the holiest saint on earth 
mourns so bitterly, and loaths and abhors himself so exceeding- 
ly for the remaining corruptions of his heart ; for, if the least dis- 
position to depart from God and disrelish communion with him, 
and to be careless about his honor and interest, is infinitely sin- 
ful, then the best men that ever lived have infinite reason al- 
ways to lie as in the dust, and have their hearts broken. Al- 
though it be so with them, that all which the world calls good 
and great, appears as dross to them ; and it is nothing to them 
to part with friends and estate, honor and ease, and all, for 
Christ ; and although they have actually suffered the loss of all 
things, and do count them but dung, not w^orth mourning about, 
or repining after ; yet, notwithstanding ail these attainments, 
attended with the fullest assurance of eternal glory in the world 
to come, they have infinite reason to do as they do.. ..to dislike 
themselves.. ..to hate themselves, and lie down in the dust all in 
tears, because still there is such a remaining disposition in their 
hearts to disesteem the Lord of glory.. ..to neglect his interest, 
and depart from him ; and because the}' are so far from being 
what they ought to be, notwithstanding the obligations lying up- 

* The least sin may be an infinite evil, because of the infinite obligation 
we are under to do otherwise, and yet all sins not be equally heinous ; 
for there is as great a difference among infinites, as among finites ; I mean, 
among things that are infinite only in one respect : For instance, to be 
for ever in hell is an infinite evil, in respect of the duration ; but yet the 
damned are not all equally miserable. Some may be an hundred times as 
miserable as others, in degree ; although the misery of all is equal in point 
of duration. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 55 

on them are infinite. Oh ! this is infinitely vile and abomina- 
ble, and they have reason indeed, therefore, always to loathe and 
abhor themselves, and repent in dust and ashes ; yea, they are 
infinitely to blame for not being more humble and penitent. — 
A sight and sense of these things made Job lie down in the dust 
and mourn so bitterly for his impatience under his past afflic- 
tions, though he had been the most patient man in the world.... 

Job xlii. 5, 6. This made the psalmist call himself a beast 

Psalm Ixxiii. 22. And hence, Paul called himself the chief of 
sinners, and cried out, I am carnal, sold under sin ; wretched 
man that lam ! And hated to commend himself when the Co* 
rinthians drove him to it, and seemed to blush at every sentence, 
and, in a sort, recalled his words — I am not a zvhit behind the 

very chief of the apostles, yet I am nothing / labored more 

abundantly than they all, yet not L Such a sight of things kills 
a self-righteous spirit at root, in the most exalted saint ; for he 
has nothing (all things considered) to make a righteousness of, 
but, in strict justice, merits eternal damnation every hour, and 
does nothing to make the least amends. 

For, if perfect obedience merits no thanks, as was before ob- 
served ; and if the least sin is an infinite evil, and deserves an 
infinite punishment, as we have now seen, then a whole eterni- 
ty of perfect obedience would do just nothing towards making 
the least amends for the smallest sin ; much less will the best 
services of the highest saint on earth : And, consequently, when 
Paul came to die, he deserved to be damned (considered mere- 
ly as in himself), as much as when he was a bloody persecutor, 
breathing out threatenings and slaughter ; yea, and a great deal 
more too : for all his diligence and zeal in the service of Christ 
did just nothing towards making the least amends for what was 
past ; and his daily short-comings and sinful defects run him 
daily infinitely more and more into debt, which he did nothing 
to counterbalance : And hence, Paul accounts himself to 
nothing (II Cor. xii. 11.), as well he migh: ; and attain- 

ments to be, in a sense, not worth rcnienv -Phil. ii:. lo.) 

and looks upon himself the chief of sinners (I Tim. i. 15.), and 

I 






56 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

less than the least of all saints (Eph. iii. 8.), and durst venture 
his soul upon nothingbut mere free grace through Jesus Christ.... 
Phil, iii. 8, 9, And thus it is with every believer, even the 
most holy, although he daily sees what a God he has sinned 
against — how he has sinned against him, and does, from a gra- 
cious respect to God, mourn for sin, for all sin, as the greatest 
evil, and sincerely turns from all to the Lord, and gives up him- 
self to God, to love him and live to him forever ; yet he feels 
that all this makes no amends at all for his sins, but that he real- 
ly deserves to be damned fur them as much as ever ; yea, he 
feels that he is infinitely blame-worthy for not being more hum- 
ble and penitent and self-abhorring, and that his desert of 
damnation is infinitely increasing continually : And hence, he 
looks upon the grace that saves him as absolutely and divinely 
free, and infinitely great ; and always derives all his hopes of 
happiness from the free grace of God through Jesus Christ. — 
And this is what the apostle means when he speaks of his living 
by the faith of the son of God.. ..Gal. ii. 20. ... of his rejoicing in 
Christ Jesus, and having no confidence in thefles A.... Phil. iii. 3. 
And this was the cause of his so earnestly longing to ho. found 
not in himself, but in Christ, ...not having on his own righteous- 
ness, buttherighteoxisness which is of God by faith.... Phil. iii. S, 9. 
How directlv contrary to all this is the temper of the blind, con- 
ceited Pharisee, as expressed by Maimonides, the Jew, who 
was professedly one of that sect ? " Every man,'' says he, u hath 
44 his sins, and every man his merits : and he that hath more 
"merits than sins, is a just man ; but he that hath more sins 
u than merits, is a wicked man." And this is the way of such 
men — they put their sins, as it were, into one scale, and their 
good duties into the other ; and when they fancy their goodness 
outweighs their badness, dien they look upon themselves in the 
favor of God. But to return, 

From what has been said, we may learn, that the more sensi- 
ble any man is of the infinite glory and excellency of God, and 
of his infinite obligations thence resulting to love God with all 
his heart, and obey him in every thing, the clearer will he see 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 57 

that perfect obedience deserves no thanks, and that the least 
sin is an infinite evil and deserves an infinite punishment ; and 
so he will renounce his own righteousness, die to himself, and 
come down to nothing, more and more ; and so will he propor- 
tionate v mjore and more sensible of his absolute need of Christ 
and free grace : And hence, the more holy a man grows,, the 
more humble will he be. And, on the contrary, the more insen- 
sible a man is of God's infinite glory and excellency, and of his 
obligations thence resulting, the more will he value his duties, 
and the less evil will he see in siiv, and the less sensible will he 
be of his ill desert, and of his need of Christ and free grace.. — 
And hence, a self-righteous, impenitent, Christ-despising spir- 
it reigns in all who know not God : And thus we see some of the 
consequences necessarily following from that infinite obligation 
to love God with all our hearts which we are under, resulting 
from the infinite glory and excellency of the divine nature. — 
But to pass on, 

3. This obligation we are under to love God with all our 
hearts, arising from his infinite glory and excellencv, is, in the 
nature of things, eternally binding. God, his being, perfections, 
and glory will be eternal : God will always be infinitely amia- 
ble — always as amiable as he is now ; and there will be always, 
therefore, the same reason that he should be loved, for being 
what he is ; even the very same reason that there is now : This 
obligation is therefore perpetually binding amidst all the dian- 

i of this life. Whether we are sick or well, in prosperity or 

in adversity ; whether we are raised to honor with David, or 

live in affluence with Solomon ; or whether we are in prison 

h Joseph, or on the dung-hill with Job, or wandering about 

in sheep-skins and goat-skins, destitute, afflicted, tormented, 

with those mentioned in the eleventh to the Hei till this 

obligation upon us to love God, is invariablv the same : For God 

infinitely amiable in himself ; yea, and always will be 

■r we arc in the ear.th, or in heaven, or in hell ; And 

therefore it always is, and always will be, our indispensible 

y to love him with all our hearts, let what will become of us, 



58 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

and let our circumstances, as to "happiness and misery, be what 
they may. 

Did our obligations to love God arise merely from a consid- 
eration of something else besides the eternal excellency of the di- 
vine nature — from something which might altogether cease in 
time, then might it possibly, some time or other, cease to be our 
duty to love God with all our hearts : But assuredly it can 
never cease i until God ceases to be what he is. The infinite ob- 
ligation hence arising will be eternally binding : Indeed, if all 
our obligations to love God did arise merely from selfish con- 
siderations, then, in hell, where these selfish considerations will 
cease, it would cease to be a duty to love God. If I were obli- 
ged to love God, only because he loves me — is kind to me, and 
designs to make me happy, then, when he ceases to love me, 
to be kind to me, and to intend my happiness, all my obliga- 
tions to him would cease ; and it would be no sin not to love 
him : But now, since our obligations to love God arise original- 
ly from his being what he is in himself, antecedent to all selfish 
considerations ; therefore it will forever remain our duty to 
love him, let our circumstances, as to happiness or misery, be 
what they will : And not to love him with all our hearts, will 
forever be infinitely wrong. Hence the guilt of the fallen an- 
gels has been increasing ever since their first apostacy ; and the 
guilt of all the damned will be increasing to all eternity ; and 
no doubt their punishment will increase in the same propor- 
tion. How inconceivably and infinitely dreadful, therefore, 
will be their case, who are thus continually sinking deeper and 
deeper in that bottomless pit of woe and misery ! And indeed, 
if this be the case, hell may well be compared, as it is in scrip- 
ture, to a bottomless pit. ...Hew ix. 1. & xx. 1. 

4. This obligation which we are under to love God with all 
our hearts, resulting from the infinite excellency of the divine 
nature, is also unchangeably binding. As unchangeable as the 
divine nature is — as unalterable as the divine beauty is, even so 
unchangeable, so unalterable, in the very nature of things, is 
this our infinite obligation to love him supremely, live to him 



DISTINGUISHED PROM ALL COUNTERTEITS. 59 

ultimately, and delight in him superlatively. As God is infi- 
nitely lovely in himself, and unchangeably so, so it is self-evi- 
dent we are under an infinite and invariable obligation to love 
him with all our hearts. This cannot but be always our duty. 
So long as God remains what he is, this will remain our duty. 
It will, in the nature of things, be unalterably right and fit to 
love him ; and not to do so, unalterably unfit and wrong. Our 
sinking down into ever so bad a temper, and getting to be ever 
so remote from a disposition to love him, can no more free us 
from the obligation, than it can cause him to cease being ami- 
able. He must cease to be amiable, before our obligation 
thence arising can possibly cease to be binding. If there be 
no alteration in his infinite beauty, there can possibly be no al- 
teration in the infinite obligation thence arising. While God 
remains what he is, and while our natural powers and faculties 
are maintained in being, it must continue our duty to love God 
with all our hearts, and it cannot but be our duty. In the na- 
ture of things it is right ; and the obligation is just as incapable 
of any alteration, as is the equality between twice two and four. 
The fallen angels are of so bad a temper, that the very thoughts 
of God will, doubtless, sooner than any thing, stir up all their 
hatred : But God deserves to be perfectly loved by them, as 
much as he did before their apostacy. There is a great altera- 
tion in the temper of their minds ; but not the least shadow of 
change in the divine beauty. Their having contracted so bad 
and wicked a temper, cannot surely make it right and lawful 
for them to indulge it, and continue in it. Their impious re- 
volt surely cannot free them from the authority and government 
of Almighty God. He deserves their homage and subjection, 
as much as ever he did : The original ground of all still re- 
mains ; he is still the Lord. The same may be said of fallen 
man — it is impossible that our bad temper should free us from 
our obligation to love God with ail our hearts. It is still, in 
the nature of things, as wrong, not to love God with all our 
hearts, as ever it was, or as it would have been, had we not 
joined with the fallen angels, and turned apostates. It must 



60 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

be so, unless our being of so bad and wicked a temper makes it 
right for us to continue of such a temper, and we not at all 
blame-worthy for acting agreeably thereto ; that is, unless our 
being so very bad and wicked, makes us not at all to blame for 
our badness and wickedness : And so, according to this rule, 
the viler any creature grows, and the more averse to God and 
to all good, the less he is to blame ; which is one of the gros- 
sest absurdities in the world. Therefore, 

(1.) The divine law which requires us to love God with ail 
our hearts, considered as a rule of duty, is, in the nature of things, 
unalterable , and absolutely incapable of any abatement, more or 
less. The thing required, is, in the nature of things, our duty, 
antecedent to any consideration of an express law in the case 
— as that children ought to honor their parents, and neighbors 
do as they would be done by, are things in themselves right, 
and duties antecedent to any consideration of an express law in 
the case....£/?A. vi. 1, These things would have been duties, 
if there had never been any laws made concerning them by 
God or man : Yea, they are, in their own nature, so right, that 
they cannot but be our duty ; and to dishonor our parents, and 
cheat, and defraud, and injure our neighbor, cannot but be 
wrong : So, to love God with all our hearts is originally right 
and fit, and our duty ; and would have been so, had there ne- 
ver have been any positive, express law in the case. 

Now the grand reason why God, the great Governor of the 
world, ever made a law requiring us to love him with all our 
hearts, was because it was thus, in its own nature, so infinitely 
fit : And now to suppose that he would repeal, or alter, or abate 
this law,when the grounds and reasons of his first making of it re- 
main as forceable as ever — when the thing required is as right 
and fit as ever — and when it becomes him, as Governor of the 
world, still to require it as much as ever ; — I say, to suppose 
such a thing, casts the highest reproach upon all his glorious 
perfections : It casts the highest reflection upon his infinite ho* 
liness, whereby he is infinitely inclined to love right and hate 
wrong ; for it supposes him to release his creatures from doing 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 61 

right, and to allow them to do wrong.... a little at least : It casts 
the highest reflection upon his impartial justice, whereby he is 
infinitely inclined to give every one his due ; for it supposes him 
to release his creatures from giving unto God the glory which 
is his due, and to allow them to keep back part at least : It casts 
the highest reflection upon his stability and truth ; for it suppo- 
ses him to alter his law when there is no reason for it : yea, it 
reflects even upon his goodness itself ; for it is so far from be- 
ing a benefit to his creatures to have this excellent law altered, 
which is so completely suited to the perfection and happiness 
of 'their nature, that it would be one of the greatest and sorest 
calamities which could happen. Like the altering all the good 
laws and rules in a family, merely to humor and gratify a re- 
bellious child, who will not be governed. Such a child should 
be made to conform to the wholesome laws of the family, and 
not the laws be abated and brought down to a level with his bad 
temper and perverse humor : And, finally, it casts the highest 
reflection upon the infinite "wisdom of the great Governor of the 
world ; for it supposes him to go counter to his own honor and 
to the good of his creatures, to counteract all his perfections, 
and contradict the reason and nature of things ; and that mere- 
ly in condescension unto, and in compliance with the sinfuhcor- 
rupt taste and inclinations of an apostate, rebellious, God-ha- 
ting world. 

And now, how could the great Governor of the world clear 
and vindicate the honor of his great name, in making any abate- 
ments in this law, which requires us to love him with all our 
hearts ? Would he say that he /tad before required more love than 
was his due ? Surely, nothing can be much more blasphemous 
than to suppose this. Would he say that he does not deserve so 
much as he did ? Still it is equally blasphemous to suppose this* 
Would he say that less than is his due is all that is his due ? 
But this would be to contradict himself in express terms. Or 
would he openly profess to quit his right and freely allow his 
creatures to despise him a little, and sin sometimes, in conde- 
scension unto and compliance with the corrupt inclinations of 



62 TllUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

their sinful hearts ? But this, in the nature of things, would be 
infinitely wrong and dishonorable. Upon what grounds, then, 
could the supreme Governor of the world go about to make 
abatements in a law so holy, just and good, that only requires 
us to love him with all our hearts, which, in the nature of things, 
is so infinitely right and suitable ? Or upon what grounds can 
we possibly desire any abatements to be made, unless we even 
profess that we do not like the law. ...that we are averse to lov- 
ing God with all our hearts.... that it is a very tedious, self-de- 
nying thing to us, and what we can by no means freely come in- 
to ; and so, upon this footing, desire some abatements ! Or, 
which is the same thing, honestly own u that we love sin so 
" dearly that God must tolerate us in it, or we cannot approve 
"of his govern ment." 

But, indeed, God can as easily cease to be, as go about to li- 
cense and tolerate the least sin ; and he had rather Heaven and 
earth should pass axvay, than that the least jot or tittle of his law 
should fail. ..Mat. v. 18. 

How can any body, therefore, once imagine that Christ came 
down from heaven and died, to purchase this abatement of the 
law of God, and procure this lawless liberty for his rebellious 
subjects? What ! did he desert his Father's interest and honor, 
and the honor of his law and government, and spill his precious 
blood, that he might persuade the great Governor of the world to 
slacken the reins of government, and give out this impious li- 
cense to iniquity ? — -Surely to suppose this, is to make Christ a 
friend to sin, and an enemy to God. 

What, then, do they mean, who, in their prayers, presume to 
thank God for the gracious abatements which he has made in his 
law ? And what do ministers mean by telling their people, from 
the pulpit, that the law is abated, and that sincere obedience is 
all that is now required of us ? — Indeed, if poor secure sin- 
ners are made to believe that this was the great business Christ 
came into the world upon, no wonder if their impious hearts 
are pleased, and if they seem to love Christ, and prize the gos- 
pel, and give thanks to God for tliis great goodness and conde- 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 63 

scension ; for hereby they are delivered from that strictness in 
religion which they hate, and a wide door is opened for them 
to sin without blame : Yea, they have the comfort to think that 
it is no sin not to love God with all their heart, with all their 
soul, and with all their strength : And, generally, a very little 
matter of religion, they think, will serve. And now it's good 
times, and they bless themselves. But, alas ! They feed upon 
the wind : A deceived heart hath turned them aside. 

But, bv the way, to what purpose was it for Christ to die 
to purchase this abatement ? What need was there of it? Or 
what good could it do ? For, if the law really required too much, 
the Governor of the world was obliged, in justice, to make some 
abatements : And so, the death of Christ in the case was per- 
fectly needless. And if the law required but just enough, the 
Governor of the world could not, in justice, make any abate- 
ments : And so Christ must haye died in vain, and totally lost 
his end. 

But, indeed, Christ never came into the world upon this de- 
sign ; as he expressly declares, in Mat. v. 17, 18... .Think not 
that I come to destroy the law or the prophets : I am not come to 
destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and 
earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the 
law, till all be fulfilled* And this is the very thing he con- 
demns the Pharisees for, through all this chapter, that they, in 
effect, taught this doctrine, that the law was abated : that they 
taught, that although the law did forbid some external and 
more gross acts of sin, yet it did not the first stirring of corrup- 
tion at heart, and some lesser iniquities : For instance, that 
" they must not commit murder ; but that it was no harm to be 
u angry without cause, and speak reproachfully, and keep a se- 
u cret grudge at heart.... (verse 21 — 26.) That they must not 
u commit adultery ; but that it was no harm to have secret las- 
u civious thoughts.. ..(verse 27 — 30.) That they must not be 
a guilty of perjury ; but that there was no harm in little petty 
u oaths in common conversation.. ..(verse 33 — 37.) That they 
" Miust not fuite their friends ; but there was no harm in hating 



64 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

" their enemies ;" (verse 43 — 47.) These, and such like al- 
lowances, they taught, were made in the law ; and so, that such 
things were not sinful. But our Savior condemns their doc- 
trine, as false and damning ; and insists upon it, that the law is 
not abated, and nevershall be ,; but says, it still requires us to 
be perfect, as cur heavenly Father is perfect.... (verse 48.) and 
declares, that four righteousness exceedeth not the righteousness 
of the scribes and Pharisees y(who were so much for abating the 
law) we shall never enter into the kingdom of heaven...(y erse 20.) 
so far was our blessed Savior from any design to abate the ho- 
ly law r of God, or lessen our obligations to a perfect conformity 
to it : And indeed, if Christ had died, and should die a thou- 
sand times, to purchase an abatement of the law, (if it be law- 
ful to make such a supposition) it would be to no purpose ; 
for it cannot be abated, unless God ceases to be what he is : 
For so long as God isjnfinitely lovely, we shall necessarily be 
under an infinite obligation to love him with all our heart, and 
with all our strength ; and it will necessarily be infinitely 
wrong not to do so. The truth is, that God's sending his 
Son into the world to die for the redemption of sinners, instead 
of freeing us from our original natural obligations to keep the 
law, binds us more strongly so to do ; as we shall afterwards 
see. Psalm cxix* 16Q.,c. Thy word is true from the beginning: 
And every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever : 
(Ver. 128.) I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be 
right. (Ver. 144.) The righteousness of thy testimonies is cv~ 
er lasting. (Ver. 152.) Thou has founded them forever. And 
therefore (ver. 160,) Every one of them will endure forever ; 
as if the Psalmist had said, a The thing required in thy law 
" is, in its own nature, right, everlastingly right ; and, there- 
" fore, as Governor of the world, thou hast by law forever set- 
" tied and established it as duty — by a law never to be altered, 
44 but to endure forever : And forever, therefore, will it en- 
" dure." 

Obj. But is it fair and just for God to require more of his 
creatures than they can do ? - 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 65 

Ans. What are we come to, in this apostate world, that we 
cannot see it to be just and fair, in the great Governor of heav- 
en and earth, the infinitely glorious God, to require us, as his 
creatures, so much as to love him, with all our hearts ? What ! 
Is this too much ? Is this more than he deserves from us ? Or 
docs the truth lie here.. ..that we hate him so, that we cannot 
find it in our hearts to love him ; and therefore cry, " He must 
" not insist upon it ; or, if he does, he deals unjustly, and is 
* very hard with us ?" But is not this the very thing those citi- 
zens did, who hated their Prince, and sent after him, saying, 
We xvill not have this man to reign over us ?....Luke xix. 14. 
These hints may serve as an answer for the present : But of 
this more hereafter* 

But while some are pleading, that Christ died to purchase 
an abatement of the law, others cany the point still further, and 
say that Christ died entirely to disannul it ; and that now it 
ivholly ceases to be a rule of life to believers : whenas one 
great and declared design of Christ's coming into the world 
was to recover his people to a conformity thereto : (Tit. ii. 11, 
12, 13.) Oh how men love their corruptions, and hate God 
and his holy law, and long to have it cashiered and removed out 
of the world, that so they may live as they list, and yet escape 
the reproaches of their consciences here, and eternal punish- 
ment hereafter ! But God sitteth King forever, and will assert 
the rights of his crown, and maintain the honor of his majesty, 
and the glory of his great name, and vindicate his injured law ; 
although it be in the eternal damnation of millions of his re- 
bellious subjects : Luke xix. 27..../;?// those mine enemies, which 
would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay 
them before me. And here, by the way, we may see what an 
aversion men have to right thoughts of God and divine things ; 
and may be convinced of the absolute necessity of a superna- 
tural, all-conquering light, to remove these prejudices, and 
make men see and believe the truth, and love, and cordially cm- 
brace it. {John viii. 47 — I Cor. ii. 14.) A holy God does not 
appear infinitely glorious and amiable to an unholy heart ; and 



66 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

sinners, not seeing the grounds of loving God with all their 
hearts, do not see the reason of the law ; they do not see how 
holy, just, and good the law is, and the carnal mind being enmity 
against God, is, at the same time, enmity against the law, which 
is a transcript of the divine nature.... {Rom. viii. 7.) And hence, 
sinners do not love to believe either God or his law to be what 
they really are : And this temper makes them blind to what 
the scripture says, and leads them to frame a false image of 
God, and entertain false notions of his law, that they may have 
a God and a law both to their own minds. 

And now, as are men's notions of the law, such are their 
notions of religion ; the essence of which principally consists 
in a conformity to the law. 

Hence, here is one ; he pleads for great abatements in the 
law, and he contents himself with the mere form of religion. 
He is not unjust, nor an extortioner, nor an adulterer ; but 
much better than some of his neighbors : He prays in his fam- 
ily, goes to public worship, and attends the Sacrament, and 
thinks himself a very good man ; like him in Luke xviii. 9, 10, 
&c. But as for the doctrines relating to our natural depravity, 
regeneration, conversion, faith, communion with God, and all the 
inside of religion, he understands nothing about them ; they 
seem as strange as it did to Nicodemus to hear Christ discourse 
about the nezv birth....Johnn\. And all the talk about the //*- 
ward influences of the holy spirit, in awakening, convincing, 
humbling, and converting a sinner, and in enlightening, teach- 
ing, quickening, comforting, and sanctifying a believer, is quite 
unintelligible ; for these things do not come into his notions 
of religion. According to his opinion, the law is brought down 
so low, that it is an easy thing to become a good man : The 
change is but small, and there is scarce any need of the spirit's 
help ; much less any room for the exercise of sovereign grace ; 
for he is so good-natured, that he can become good of his own 
free will, (i. e. according to his notions of goodness,) and do 
that which shall effectually entitle him to the promises : And 
thus he has the staff in his own hand. And now here is a 



DISTINGUISHED TR0M ALL COUNTERFEITS. 67 

diarming religion, perfectly suited to the taste of an apostate 
world ; for it is calculated to quiet the conscience, while the 
heart lies out estranged from God,anddead in s\n...Rom. vii. 8,9. 
Especially, so much of it as is for their credit, and apparently 
serves their worldly interest, will pretty readily and heartily be 
fallen in with ; and the best have their failings.., .no man is per- 
fect... .and I endeavor to be since re.... and the best have their 

doubts assurance is not to be attained, and such-like pleas, 

help to keep their consciences secure. And now,0 how they love 
those ministers, that cry, peace, peace ! but hate those that 
would search things to the bottom, and sound an alarm to se- 
cure sinners, and deluded hypocrites. The same temper that 
makes them hate God and his law, makes them hate his min- 
ibters too : And they are for another kind of God, and for 
another kind of law — another kind of religion, and another 
kind of ministers, that they may have all to their mind. And, 
when all is done, they are confident they are now in the right, 
because they are suited : They love to have it so, and there- 
fore firmly believe it is so. 

Hence, again, here is another, who has been mightily terri- 
fied, and in great distress, under a sense of the wrath of God 
and the dreadfulness of damnation ; but, in the distressing hour, 
he has had it revealed to him (by the spirit of God, he thinks) 
that his sins are forgiven ; and now he is sure of heaven, and 
is ravished at the thoughts of eternal glory : he holds it a great 
sin to doubt ; and all his religion consists in faith and joy, u e. 
in believing that his sins are forgiven, and rejoicing in his bles- 
sed and happy and safe estate, and in the expectation of future 
glory : But as for a real conformity to the law, it makes up no 
part of his religion. He understands rightly nothing what the 
law requires.. ..he is neither sensible of his duty to God, or to 
his fellow-men ; yea, he hates to hear any thing about law or du- 
ty : It is all legal, he cries, and tends to kill religion, andtowound 
weak christians, and grieve and drive away the spirit of grace ; 
and no preaching suits his taste, but what consists in telling over 
and commending such experiences as his, and in setting forth 



68 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

the love of God and Christ to such, and calling upon such to 
believe and rejoice, and never doubt their state again : And, in 
•general, those things which tend to strengthen his confidence and 
increase his joy, he esteems right and good ; and all things o£ 
a contrary tendency he esteems wrong and bad. This seems to 
be his only criterion of right and wrong, and the only rule he 
makes use of in drawing up a judgment ; but as for the law, it 
is of no use with him. There is doubtless many a man that 
feels and acts and lives as if the law was abated, who yet will 
not plead for that doctrine : So, doubtless, there is many a man 
that feels and acts and lives as if the law wholly ceased to be a 
rule of life, who yet will not venture to say so. The force of 
education, and their worldly interest and credit keep men ma- 
ny times from shewing what they are by an open profession : 
however, secretly this temper reigns within them ; yea, some- 
times it breaks out into open light, in their visible conduct. — • 
But, as strange as it may seem, there are multitudes that not on- 
ly have the root of these things in their hearts, but really believe 
them and openly profess and plead for them. Hence it is, on 
the one hand, that the Arminian, Neonomian, and Pelagiam er- 
rors have taken their rise, and the Antinomian on the other.— 
Wrong notions of God lie at the bottom ; and then wrong no- 
tions of the law ; and then wrong notions of religion in general : 
and all originally proceed and grow up out of the wrong tem- 
per of men's minds ; for all unregenerate men would fain have 
a God, and a law, and a religion to suit the temper of their hearts. 
Micah iv. 5. ...For all people will walk every one in the name of 
his God. 

In the mean time, the truly godly man, who sees that the ob- 
ligation which he is under, to love God with all his heart, re- 
sulting from the excellency of the divine nature, is unchangea- 
ble, and that the law which requires this is unalterable, in- 
stead of going about to contrive a religion that may suit the na- 
tural temper of his heart, is convinced that the temper of his 
heart is the very thing that must be changed : He is convinced 
of his infinite obligation to be altogether such as the law requires 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. C9 

him to be, and that he is infinitely blameable for the least defect. 
Hence, those words, The law is holy, just, and good. ...the law 
is spiritual ; but I am carnal, sold under sin : wretched man 
that I am ! do exactly express the thoughts of the most exalted 
saint on earth ; yea, even of the great Saint PauLhimself....i?0/». 
vii. 12, 14, 24. Indeed, had St. Paul thought that the law was 
wholly disannulled, or much abated, he might then have ima- 
gined that he was so good as to be quite free from sin, or pret- 
ty near being so, and been ready to speak the language of the 
Pharisee — God, I thank thee, 1 am not as other men. But now, 
notwithstanding all his high and wonderful attainments, yet, 
when he considered what the law was which he was under, and 
how very far he was from being exactly what that required, the 
native language of his humble heart is, lam carnal, sold under 
si?i ! Ozvr etched man that lam /* And now the Apostle,from 
a sense of his infinite obligations to be what the law requires, 
and of his great distance from this, forgets the things which are 
behind ; and he runs.,. .he %vrestles....he fghts....he strives. ..he 
keeps under his body. ...he lays aside every weight ; in short, he 
appears like a man in a perfect agony ; so great was his sense 
of duty, and so much had he to do : And, at the same time, from 
a sense of his impotency and of his unwor thine ss.... of his need 
of the redeemer and the sanctifier, it is his maxim to pray aU 
ways, and to ask all things in the name of Christ. Now, in his 
example we have the temper which prevails more or less in ev- 
ery godly man exactly painted : And thus we have had pictured, 
in miniature, three different sorts of religion, arising from three 
different notions of the law. The picture is begun ; and, in the 
sequel, I purpose to paint all three as near to the life as I can, 
that we may see what they are, and wherein they differ ; which 

* Some have thought that St. Paul had arrived so nigh to perfection, that 
he could not speak these words of himself. Their mistake seems to arise 
from their wrong notions of the fcu, to \\hich St. Paul compared himself, 
and according to which he drew up his judgment. And from the same 
source it seems to be, that they can think those words, (wr. 22,) applicable 
to the nnregenerate ...Z delight in the lavs of (rod after the inward man. When, 
in truth, the unregenerate are, in their temper, diametrically opposite to the 
law....i?om. vhi. 7. 



70 TPvUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

is right, and which is wrong; — But so much for the first infer- 
ence, that the laxv, as a rule of duty, cannot be repealed or abated* 
And now to proceed, 

2. From what has been said, it is evident that the law, in its 
threatenings of eternal damnation for the least sin, is equally in- 
capable of any repeal or abatement : for if our obligation to love 
God with all our hearts and obey him in every thing, resulting 
from the divine perfections, is infinite, eternal, and unchangea- 
ble ; and if, therefore, the least sin necessarily be infinitely evil, 
and deserving of an infinite punishment, and unalterably so, then 
the law, considered as threatening eternaldamnation for the least 
sin, is, in its own nature, unalterably holy and just ; and conse- 
quently it cannot be repealed, consistently with the holiness, jus- 
tice, and honor of the great Governor of the world. If the Gov- 
ernor of the world had, in a mere arbitrary maimer, made a law 
that sin should be punished with eternal damnation, thenhe might, 
in a mere arbitrary manner, have repealed it : but since, in the 
nature of things, justice called for it, that such a law should be 
made, therefore, so long as the grounds and reasons of the law 
remain, the law cannot, injustice, be repealed. 

None can deny but that the great Governor of the world has 
actually made a law that sin shall be punished with eternal dam- 
nation ; and none can deny but that this law is to be put in ex- 
ecution, to the full, at and after the great judgment-day : But 
if justice had not called for it, surely the infinitely good Governor 
of the world would never have made such a law, much less 
would he ever put it in execution : for, to make and execute 
such a law, in a merely arbitrary ', sovereign manner, when, in 
the nature of things, justice does not call for it, would be infinite- 
ly cruel and tyrannical, and perfectly inconsistent with the di- 
vine perfections, as is self-evident. ...See Genesis xviii. 25. and 
Ezekiel xviii. 25. 

But, then, if the great Governor of the world made this law 
not arbitrarily, but because, in the nature of things, justice call' 
edfor it, then, so long as the reason and ground of the law re- 
main, the law itself cannot, injustice, ever be repealed. If jus- 



EXTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 71 

tice called for its being made, then it cannot be un-made, con- 
sistentlv with justice, so long as the ground and reason of it re- 
main, as is self-evident. But the reason of the law is, in the 
nature of things, unalterable : for the reason of the law was the 
in-finite evil of sin, whereby it deserved an infinite punishment. 
As long, therefore, as sin remains an infinite evil, so long must 
the law stand unrepealed : but sin will always be an infinite evil, 
so long as we are under infinite obligations to love God with all 
our hearts, and obey him in every thing, which we shall always 
be, so long as God remains infinitely glorious and amiable, and 
this will be forever ; therefore, this law can never possibly, con- 
sistently with divine justice, be repealed. 

For any, therefore, to desire to have it repealed, is to turn 
enemy to the holiness, and justice, and honor of the supreme 
Ruler of the world, as well as to his law and government ; and 
argues that they have no regard to the rectitude and fitness of 
things, but only to self-interest ; as those among men are real 
enemies to the civil government who desire the good and whole- 
some laws thereof to be repealed : And it is upon this ground 
that St. Paul concludes carnal men to be at enmity against God, 
because thev are enemies to his law,...(^??:. viii. 7.) For if 
men loved God, they would be disposed to love his law and 
government, which express his nature. 

To suppose, therefore, that the Son of God came into the 
world and died, that the law, in its threat enings, might be re- 
pealed, is to suppose that he also is turned an enemy to God. ..to 
his holiness and justice. ...to his law and government ; and that 
he is properly gone over to be on the side of his father's rebel- 
lious subjects. 

Besides, to what purpose would it have been (on the hypoth* 

csis of these men), for Christ to have died, that the law, in its 

threatenings, might be repealed ? What need was there of it ? 

or what good would it have done ? For if, in justice, it ought to 

have been repealed, there was no need of his dying to procure 

this ; or if, injustice, it ought not to be repealed, then his dying 

could not procure it, and so would do no good. Th< ous 

L 



72 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

Governor of the world would have repealed it of his own ac- 
cord, if it had been right and fit so to do ; and if, in the nature 
of things, it was not right, then not any thing whatever could 
persuade him to do it. 

But the truth is, Christ came into the world, and died to an- 
szver all the demands of the law ; that so, although the sinner be 
saved, yet the law might never be repealed, but be firmly estab- 
lished : for the Governor of heaven and earth was utterly 
against the law being repealed, as a thing in itself infinitely un- 
reasonable : And therefore the Apostle says, Do we make void 
the law through faith ? God forbid! yea, we establish the laxv.... 
Rom. iii. 31. And indeed it was nothing but God's infinite 
aversion to repeal the law, as a thing in itself infinitely unfit 
and wrong, that was the thing which made the death of Christ 
needful : for, if the law mighthave been repealed, sinners might 
have been saved without any more ado ; but, if it could not, 
and must not be repealed, then the demands of it must be an- 
swered by some means or other, or every sinner damned : And 
now Christ stepped in and did this ; and so secured the honor 
of God's holiness and justice, law and government, and open- 
ed a way for the sinner's salvation. And this account of the 
reason of Christ's death the scriptures plainly give us : — GaL 
iii. 10, 13, 14?.. ..Cursed is every one that continueth not in all 
things zvritten in the book of the law to do them,. — Christ hath 
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us* 
That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles, through 
Jesus Christ : For (Heh. ix. 22.) without shedding of blood 
there is no remission: Therefore {Rom. iii. 25,26.) Christ was 
set forth to be a propitiation for sin.. ..to declare his righteousness 
....that he might be just, and the justijier of him zuhich believeth 
in Jesus : And hence (ver. 31,) Do we make void the law 
through faith P God forbid J yea, we establish the law. 

Yea, the Apostle evidently sets out upon this hypothesis, that 
the law is not repealed, but stands in full force : He lays this 
down as a first principle, in that argumentative discourse which 
we have in the three first chapters of his epistle to the Romans: 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 73 

Chap. i. ver. 18.,. .The wrath of God is revealed from heaven 
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. And taking 
this for granted, he goes on to prove, that both Jews and Greeks 
are all under sin, and so the whole world guilty before God ; to 
the 19th verse of the 3d chapter : And hence he argues, thatbif 
tiie deeds of the lazv no fiesh could be justified. But now, if the 
law was repealed, the whole world was not guilty before God, 
nor any one in the world : For sin is not imputed where there 
is no law.. ..Rom. v. 13. And if the law was repealed, what 
need was there of such a long train of arguments, to prove, that 
no flesh could be justified by the law ? For it would have been 
enough to have said, that a repealed law could neither justify 
nor condemn any body. And why does he use such arguments 
as he does ? For thus he reasons, " The law requires perfect 
<c obedience as a condition of life, and threatens tribulation and 
u wrath against every soul of man that doth evil : But Jews and 
14 Gentiles have all sinned :. therefore are all guilty and eondemn- 
u ed according to law ; and consequently cannot be cleared and 
"justified by law :" For all this reasoning supposes that the 
law is as much in force as ever it was : And, accordingly, he 
goes on to show, that the design of Christ's death was to an- 
swer the demands of the law, that there might be a way open- 
ed for the salvation of sinners, consistent with divine justice, 
and, at the same time, the law not be made void, but establish- 
ed ; as we have before observed. — And now this being the case, 
Hence, we find the scriptures every where look upon those 
who have not a special interest in the righteousness of Christ, 
by faith, as being as much under the wrath of God and curse of 
the law, as if Christ had never died. John iii. 18.... He that be- 
lieveth not is condemned already : Ver. 36. ...The wrath of God 
abideth upon him : And, Gal. iii. 10.. ..As main/ as are of the 
works of the law are under the curse : And, Rom. i. IS.... 1 lie 
wrath of God is revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness and 
unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. 
Thus the wrath of God is revealed against the unbeliever ; yea, 
abides upon him ; yea, the law condemns and curses him : But 



74f TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

if the law had been repealed by the death of Christ, all the world 
would have been freed from the curse : For a repealed law can 
neither bless the righteous, nor curse the wicked ; but stands 
for nothing. 

And hence, also, we find that Christless sinners, when awa- 
kened by the holy spirit to see and feel what a state they are in, 
are always convinced that they are under the wrath of God and 
curse of the law ; and hereby are made to understand their 
need of a Savior.... (Rom. iii. 19, 20.) But if the law had been 
repealed by the death of Christ, this could not be ; for they 
would then have been under no wrath, nor curse ; nor would 
any have ever felt a spirit of bondage, as they do in every age 
of the world, and as they used to do in St. Paul's day..,.(i?0?7z. 
viii. 15.) For it is the law only that works wrath... .Rom. iv. 15. 

And hence we shall find, even all the world shall find, and 
thousands and thousands to their everlasting sorrow, that when 
the day of judgment comes, the law shall be executed with the 
utmost severity upon all that know not God, and obey not the 
gospel of Jesus Christ.. ..(II. Thes. i. 7, 8.) And God's justice,in 
so doing, will shine bright in the sight of all worlds ; for he de- 
signs, on that day, to reveal the righteousness of his judgments : 
and hence it is called the day of the revelation of the righteous 
judgment of God.*.. (Rom* ii. 5.) But if the law is repealed by 
the death of Christ, and if God has told the world that he has 
repealed it.. ..for him now to revive it, and judge and condemn 
the world by it, would be to cast contempt upon the death of 
Christ, and deceive his poor creatures, and unmercifully and 
unrighteously judge and condemn them, by a law that was re- 
pealed. ...a law they never were under, and so ought never to 
have been judged by. From the whole, therefore, it is evident, 
that the law that threatens eternal damnation for the least sin, 
never has been, and never will be repealed. 

Well, then, (if this be the case) may ministers thunder hell 
and damnation against a secure, wicked world ; and well may 
poor sinners tremble under a sense of divine wrath, when their 
eyes begin to be opened to see where they are : for all those 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 75 

comforts that the formalist gets by thinking the law is abated 
or disannulled, and so his state safe, are but the result of an er- 
roneous head, and a heart secure in sin. And what has been 
said under this particular, will rationally account for all the ag- 
ony and distress of an awakened sinner. When God, the 
great Governor of the world, the revenger of sin, begins to 
make the poor sinner remember his ways and his doings which 
have not been right, and see what a creature he is, and what a 
condition he is in, and be sensible of what he deserves ; and 
when he comes to understand that his soul is forfeited, and that 
it is right that justice should take place, and that God is at lib- 
erty to do as he pleases, surely this must be heart-rending, 
soul-distressing to a poor, sinful, guilty, hell-deserving creature. 
And if God will not repeal the law, but still insist upon it, 
that it is holy and just, no wonder the sinner is made to own 
it too, before ever he is pardoned : For it would be unbecom- 
ing the supreme Lord of the universe, to grant a pardon to a 
guilty rebel, that is too high-hearted to own that the law, by 
which he stands condemned, is holy and just. O how right it 
is, that the sinner should come down, and see, and know, and 
own forever, that he is justly condemned, and, as such, apply 
himself to the sovereign grace of God, through Jesus Christ, 
for a pardon ! And O how sovereign, and free, and divine, is 
that grace that pardons and saves the poor, sinful, guilty, hell- 
deserving wretch, through Jesus Christ! {Rom. iii. 19,27.) 
And thus as God the Father honors the lav/, by refusing to repeal 
it, and God the Son, by answering its demands — so does God, 
the Holy Ghost, by making the poor sinner see, and feel, and 
own, that it is holy and just, before ever he internally reveals the 
mercy of God, through Jesus Christ, unto him ; so that the law 
is honored, and sin is embittered, and the sinner humbled, and 
grace glorified, all at once : As in the external revelation God 
has made in his word, the law is before the gospel ; so it is in 
internal influences and operations of the holy spirit upon the 
elect ; and that for the same reason, that the krw might be a 
school-master, to bring men to Christ. 



T6 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

To conclude, from all that has been said, we may learn what 
to think of the religion and of the hopes of these two sorts of 
men. (1.) The legal hypocrite, who, supposing that the good 
old law is repealed and laid aside, and that a new law, only re- 
quiring sincere obedience, is established in its room, merely from 
self-love, and for self-ends, sets about duty and endeavors to be 
sincere ; and here on this foundation builds ail his hopes of ac- 
ceptance in the sight of God : for since the law is not repealed, 
but stands in full force, therefore the religion of such is not that 
thing which God requires or will accept ; and their new laxv is 
a whim, and their hopes are all built on the sand : Their whole 
scheme results from a total ignorance of God, and his law, and 
the present state of mankind ; and is entirely built on falsehood. 
(2.) The evangelical hypocrite — all whose faith and joy original- 
ly result from a supposed discovery of the love of God, or love 
of Christ, or that his sins are pardoned. This discovery is the 
foundation of his faith, and his faith is the foundation of his joy 
and of all his religion : And yet the thing discovered is a lie ; 
for, as has been proved, every one, until he is a believer, until he 
has acted faith, is not pardoned, but condemned — is not belov- 
ed of God, but under his wrath ; and, therefore, to have par- 
don of sin and the love of God discovered before the first act of 
faith, and to have such a discovery lay the foundation for the 
first act of faith, and a foundation for all religion, is to be impo- 
sed upon with a lie, and to have a gross falsehood lie at the 
foundation of their faith. ...their religion, and of all their hopes. 
The legal hypocrite may be convinced by such scriptures as 

these... .Luke xviii. 9 — 13....i?cm. iii. 20 — 31. and Chapter iv. 

j. 

ver. 5. ; which prove that a man cannot find acceptance with 
God by his own righteousness : And the evangelical hypocrite 
may be convinced by such scriptures as these. ...John iii. 18, 36. 
Acts iii. 19. ; which prove that a sinner is not pardoned till af- 
ter faith. A true sight and sense of the law would effectually 
convince the one, and the other, that all their hopes are built on 
wrong apprehensions of things, and that all their religion is coun- 
terfeit ; and that they are yet in the gall oi bitterness and bonds 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERTEITS. 77 

of iniquity : and the one would no longer venture his soul on 
his orv n righteousness, nor the other on his discovery. The law's 
insisting upon perfect, sinless obedience, would convince the one 
that his own righteousness might not be depended upon ; and 
the law's cursing every unbeliever, would convince die other 
that his discovery was false ; and the law's requiring us to love 
God primarily for his own beauty, would convince both of their 
graceless estates, in as much as the religion of both primarily 
takes its rise from self-love. It is from the want of a realizing 
sight and sense of the nature and extent of the law, and that out 
of Christ we are exposed to all the curses thereof, that a sinful, 
guilty world are so insensible of their graceless, and their wretch- 
ed and miserable condition, and so apt to flatter themselves that 
they are rich, and increased in goods, and stand in need of noth- 
ing. Rom. vii. 8, 9— .Without the law sin zvas dead. Iivas 
alive 7vithout the law once. 

Thus we see that the obligation which we were under to love 
God with all our hearts, resulting from the infinite excellency of 
the divine nature, antecedent to all selfish considerations, is in* 
finitely, eternally, and unchangeably binding : And thus we see 
a variety of important consequences necessarily following there- 
from : And I have insisted the longer upon the nature of this 
obligation, not only because it is the first and greatest,but because 
it has a mighty influence in all our additional obligations. — For, 

5. And lastly. It is from the infinite excellency of the divine 
nature, that jail our additional obligations originally derive their 
strength, their energy, their binding p07ver. The infinite ex- 
cellency of the divine nature so entirely lays the foundation of its 
being our duty to love God with ail our hearts, that were it not 
for this, it would cease to be our duty, notwithstanding ail oth- 
er considerations. If he were not, by nature, God, it would 
not be fit that we should love and worship bifid as God, upon 
any account whatsoever : He could have no such right to us, or 
authority over us, as to make it our duty ; nor could he render 
it our duty, by showing us any kindness w hatsoever : Yea, ii he 
were not, by nature, God, it would be xvrong for us to pay him 



78 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

divine adoration ; it would be idolatry ; it would be worship- 
ping one as Cod, who, by nature, is not God : And by the same 
argument which the orthodoxhzvt been wont to use against the 
Arians, who deny the divinity of Christ.. ..If he be not a divine 
person, he ought not to have divine worship paid him; — I say, 
by the same argument, if God were not, by nature, God, it 
could not, upon any account, be our duty to love and worship 
him as God. It is his being, by nature, God — his being what 
he is, and his infinite excellency in being such, which therefore 
lays the original foundation of all our obligations, and which 
gives life and energy to all : And, accordingly, we may observe, 
that the original ground and reason upon which God, as Gov- 
ernor of the world, acts, in making a law that we should love 
him with all our hearts, is, because he is the Lord ; as is evident 
from the tenor of the lawitself : — Thou shalt love f/z^LoRD^c. i.e. 
because he is the Lord, &c. Yea, it is upon this ground, origi- 
nally, that God takes it upon him to give all his laws to us ; for 
this is the constant style.... Thus and thus shall ye do, toe. I am 
the Lord. 

Those, therefore, who are influenced to love and worship God 
not at all, because he is God, but altogether from other consid- 
erations.... not at all from a sense of his infinite excellency, but 
altogether on other accounts, are so far from being truly religious, 
that they are, indeed, guilty of great wickedness in all they do : 
for although they pretend to love and worship God, yet it is not 
at all because he is God ; — though they pretend to pay divine 
adoration to him, yet it is not at all because he is a divine Be- 
ing : so that when they pretend to pay divine worship and ado- 
ration to God, it is merely from some selfish consideration.... 
from self-love, and for self-ends ; — there is no true regard to 
God, but all centers in self: so that self, indeed, is their idol, 
and the onlv God they serve ; and their pretending to love and 
worship God is mere mockery. When they pretend to love and 
worship God, it is not at all because he is God.. ..not at all from 
a sense of his divine glory, but only to appease his anger and 
obtain his favor, or because they consider him as their friend 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 79 

and benefactor. And now, to come to God and pretend to 
worship him as if he was God, and yet not to do it at all because 
he is God, but for mean, and mercenary, and selfish ends, is a 
very complicated wickedness ; and to think to please God in 
this way, and get into favor by this means, discovers such igno- 
rance and contempt of God, and a frame of heart so full of se- 
cret blasphemy, spiritual idolatry, pride and hypocrisy, as can- 
not easily be expressed : They practically deny his divinity, 
vet pretend to pay him divine worship: They pretend to serve 
God, yet really intend only to serve themselves : They make 
as if they loved God, but only love themselves : Yet so intol- 
erably mean are their thoughts of God, that they expect to 
please him by all this. To make the best of it, all that religion 
is mere hypocrisy, which does not primarily take its rise from 
a sense of the infinite excellency of the divine nature. 

Thus, then, we see what is the first and chief mot roe of a 
genuine love to God. He is a Being of infinite understanding, 
and of almighty power — infinite in wisdom, holiness, justice, 
goodness, and truth.... and so a Being of infinite glory and ex- 
cellency.. ..and so infinitely amiable, and infinitely worthy to be 
loved with all our hearts. And this obligation is binding ori- 
ginallv in itself, antecedent to a consideration of any other m f > 
tive whatsoever : and it is infinitely, eternally, and unchange- 
ably binding, and gives life, and energy, and strength to all 
other obligations. And hence, if we do love God with all our 
hearts, we do but our duty, and deserve no thanks ; but we 
areinfinitelv to blame for the least defect, and can never do any- 
thing to atone for it, but deserve everlasting damnation. And 
it will always be our duty thus to love God, and the least defect 
will be always thus blame-worthy, let our circumstances, as to 
happiness or misery, be what they will. All our hearts will be 
always due to God, and we shall always stand bound to pay 
this debt, whether we have any heart for it or no : and God 
will ah ar such an infinite enemy to the least defect, as 

in his law he has declared himself to be ; nor is there any hope 

of our finding acceptance in his sight, unless it be bv a union 

M 



80 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

to, and interest in, him who has answered all the demands 
of the law, in the room of those who believe in him. And all 
pretence of love to God, which does not take its rise from this 
foundation, is but mere hypocrisy. All these consequences 
so necessarily follow, from a supposition of the infinite excel- 
lency and amiableness of the divine nature, and so evidently, as 
<hat, if God be but seen aright, a sense of his infinite beauty 
will immediately assure the heart that these things are so. A 
sense of his infinite glory will make us see and feel that we are 
under infinite obligations to love him with all our hearts, and 
that we could deserve no thanks for doing so, but that the least 
defect is infinitely wrong, he. A sense of the infinite glory of 
God will effectually establish the heart in these things against 
all the subtle arguments and fair pretences of heretics. A sense 
of the infinite glory of God, immediately imparted to the soul by 
the spirit of God, whereby the heart is thus divinely established 
in the belief of the truth, is, therefore, that unction from the holy 
one, which all the saints have, whereby they are effectually se- 
cured from being finally led away by false teachers ; at least, 
that unction consists partly in this, (I. John ii. 20 — 27,) And 
at the same time that the people of God are thus established in 
the belief of these truths, relating to law and duty, from a sense 
of the infinite glory of God ; I say, at the same time this sense 
of the infinite glory of God begets a disposition in the heart to 
conform to this lav/ and do this duty. And thus it is that God 
writes his law in our hearts, and puts it in our inward parts, 
when he intends to become our God, and to make us his people.... 
(fleb. viii. 10, 11.) And hence it begins to be the nature of the 
people of God, to love him with all their hearts ; and their 
views and their temper, and every thing else being thus entirely 
new, hence they are called nexv creatures. Old things are passed 
('rvar/, and all things are become nexv. But now, this sense of 
the infinite glory of God, which thus lays the very lowest foun- 
dation of true religion, is entirely left out of all false religions. 
And by this, true religion stands distinguished, as something 
specifically different from all the false religions in the world. 



DISTINGUISHED EROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 81 

And hence we may observe, that it h spoken of in scripture, as 
something peculiar to true saints, that they see God and know 
God. Johnviii. 19, 55. ...Ye neither know me, nor my Father* 
Jphnxiv. 19.. ..The world seeth me no more, but ije see me. I.John 
in. 6. ...Whosoever sinneth, hath not seen him, neither known him. 
I. Johnii. 3.. ..Hereby we doknow that we know him, if we keep 
his commandments. I. John iv. 7, 8. ...Every one that loveih, 
knoweth God. He that%veth not, knoweth not God. And the 
unregenerate, not knowing God.. ..not having a sense of his in- 
finite glory to lay the foundation of their love and of their reli- 
gion, hence all their love and all their religion entirely take their 
rise from mere selfish considerations, and nothing but self-love 
lies at bottom. And hence it is natural for unregenerate men 
to think they deserve something for their duties, and as natural 
to be insensible of the infinite evil of their sins : And so it is 
their nature to magnify and be proud of their own goodness, 
and to extenuate and be unhumbled for their badness. And 
from hence results our native aversion to faith and repentance, 
and contrariety to the gospel-ivay of salvation. And now rierv 
gospels, nexv sorts of faith and repentance are coined, nexv notions 
of religion contrived, to suit the depraved temper and vitiated 
taste of unhumbled, impenitent sinners, who are concerned to 
secure their own interest, but care not what becomes of God's 
honor. Hence errors take their rise, and professing christians 
are divided into parties, and one runs this way, and another that, 
and all hope to get to heaven at last. And now, at length, alter 
so great a variety of inferences and remarks, and so large a con- 
sideration of the first and chief motive of a genuine love to 
God, I proceed, 

2. To take a short view of the additional obligations which we 
lie under, to love God with all our hearts. I am the Lord, 
(this lays the first foundation, and leads the way, when from 
li the Almighty proclaims his law, but then he imme- 
diately goes on to add,) thy God 5 5 <c out of the 
land of Egypt and out of the h o use c fl indage. ...Exod. >:x . C ! o I 
has such a right to us, and such an authority over us, and has 



S2 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

done so many things for us, and promised so many things to us, 
that our additional obligations to be the Lord's, to love him and 
live to him, are exceedingly great. Particularly, 

Nothing is more reasonable than that we should be entirely 
dedicated 'to that God, whose we are originally, and by an entire, 
imderived, and unalienable right : especially, considering what 
he is in himself, and that he is Lord of all things, and, by na- 
ture, God most high : Indeed, if our Greator was not, by nature, 
the most high God, then he could not be the supreme Lord of 
all things ; for there would be one above him ; and so we should 
not be his, entirely and absolutely ; for he himself, and we his 
creatures, would belong, originally, to another... even to him that, 
by nature, would be the most high God ; and him we ought to 
love and worship. But our Creator himself, being absolutely 
the first, and absolutely supreme, self-existent, and independent, 
the sole author and Lord of all things, as well as infinitely glo- 
rious in himself, his right to us is original, underived, and most 
absolute and entire : and therefore it is infinitely fit and suita- 
ble that we should be, in the constant frame and disposition of 
our hearts, absolutely, entirely, and wholly the Lord's, and that 
we should forever exert all our powers, to the very utmost, to 
promote his honor and interest. And it is infinitely unreason- 
able that we should ever set up ourselves, and be attached to 
any interest of our own, separate from his. And, inasmuch as 
he is infinitely better than we are, (yea, all the nations of the earth 
are less than nothing before him,) and has such an entire right 
unto us, his interest, therefore, should be regarded as more val- 
uable than our own.... yea, infinitely more : For if our own in- 
terest appears as valuable to us as his, we set ourselves upon a 
level with him, and claim as great a right to ourselves as he has ; 
and if his interest does not appear as being of infinitely greater 
value to us than our own, we do not esteem him as being infi- 
nitely better than we are ourselves, and his right to us infinitely 
greater than our own right to ourselves is. It is, therefore, in- 
finitely reasonable, since God is what he is, and has such a right 
to us as he has, that we should be constantly, from the very 



DISTINGUISHED FRON ALL COUNTERFEITS. 83 

bottom of our hearts, wholly his, and every moment live wholly 
to him, and alwavs have his interest lie most near our hearts, 
as being of infinitely more worth, value, and importance than 
our own : As Moses, who, in a measure, was made partaker 
of this divine nature, in the anguish of his heart, cries, when God 
tells him he will cutoff Israel, and make of him a great nation, 
" Lord, let my name be blotted oat of thy book ; let it be forgct- 
" ten from among the living, and be never heard of again in 
" the world that ever I was in being : But what will become of 
u thy great nameV* — God's honor and interest were dear to him ; 
but he, comparatively, cared not for his ovvn at a//....Exod. 
xxxii. — Num. xiv. 

But this our obligation to be entirely the Lord's, is still in- 
finitely increased, if we consider the authority of the su- 
preme Governor oiiht world, which, by his express lazv, has en- 
joined this upon us. It is not only infinitely fit, in its own na- 
ture, that we should love God with all our hearts, considering 
what he is in himself, and that we should be entirely for him, 
in the temper of our minds, considering what an entire right he 
has to us as his creatures, who have received all we have from 
him, and are absolutely dependant on him for all we want ; but 
God has, by law, as Governor of the world, enjoined this upon 
us as our duty, and that with all his authority : And now, con- 
sidering what he is in himself, and the natural right he has to 
all things, and how entirely we are his, and absolutely under his 
government, his authority is infinitely binding ; especiaiiv, 
considering how infinitely engaged he appears to be to see that 
his law be exactly obeyed, in promising eternal life on the one 
hand, and threatening eternal damnation on the other : This 
his infinite engagedness, laj s us under infinite bonds to be and 
:ly what he requires. 

But still, our obligation to love him with all our hearts, and 
be wholly the Lord's, is yet infinitely more increased, if we con- 
sider what ways the Lord has taken with us in this apostate 
world, since our rebellion against him. ..since we have lost all es- 
teem for him, turned enemies to him, cast oil" his authority, and 



84 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

practically bid defiance to his power and justice : for, instead 
of immediately dooming all this lower world to blackness of 
darkness forever, he has sent his Son, his only begotten Son, 
from heaven, to bring us the news of pardon and peace, and, by 
his own death, to open a way for our return unto him, and to 
call and invite us to return : And now, with a liberal hand, he 
strews common mercies all round the world, among evil, un- 
thankful, guilty, hell-deservingrebels, and fills the hearts of all with 
food and gladness ; and sends forth his messengers to proclaim 
it to the ends of the earth, that it is his will that all his rebellious 
creatures lay down their weapons of rebellion — acknowledge the 
law, by which they stand condemned, to be holy, just, and good, 
and look to him through Jesus Christ for pardon as a free gift, 
and through Jesus Christ return unto him, and give up them- 
selves to him entirely, to love him and live to him, and delight 
in him forever. 

And while the world in general make light of all this, and 
go to their farms, and to their merchandize, and many are enra- 
ged and cry out against the messengers of peace, and stone some 
and kill others {Mat. xxii.)— that nozu he should, of his own sov- 
ereign good pleasure, according to his eternal purpose, seize 
here and there one, by his all-conquering grace, and stop them 
in their career to hell, and make them see and feel their sin and 
guilt, and own the sentence just by which they stand condemn- 
ed, and bring them as upon their knees to look to free grace 
through Jesus Christ for a pardon, and through Jesus Christ to 
give up themselves forever to him — that novo he should receive 
them to favor, and put them among his children, and become 
their father and their God, in an everlasting covenant, and un- 
dertake to teach and lead... to quicken and strengthen... to cor- 
rect and comfort, and so to humble, and purify, and sanctify, 
and fit them for his heavenly kingdom ; and, while they are in 
this world, to give them all things that are best for them, and 
make all things work together for their good, and finally bring 
them unto, and possess them of eternal glory and blessedness, 
in the full enjoyment of himself forever ; — for a God of infinite 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 85 

greatness and glory to deal just so, with just such creatures, is 
the most amazing- and astonishing grace ; and lays infinite bonds 
upon believers to love the Lord their God with all their hearts, 
and to live to him forever, and has the greatest tendencv to an- 
imate them so to do : And thus, by these brief hints, we have 
a general view of the addiuonal motives of a true and genuine 
love to God, 

As God's bringing up the children of Israel out of Egypt — 
leading them through the wilderness — driving out the heathen 
from before them, and giving them that good land which flow- 
ed with milk and honey, and covenanting to be their God, is used 
so frequently, by Moses and the Prophets, throughout all the 
Old Testament, as a motive to engage them to cleave to the 
Lord, and to him only and entirely, and forever ; so God's send- 
ing his Son into the world, to save his people from their sins, 
their spiritual bondage, together with all the spiritual and ever- 
lasting blessings of the covenant of grace, are continually used 
in the New Testament, as arguments to engage believers not 
to live to themselves, but to him that died for them. — Only 
here let these things be remembered : 

(1 .) That a sight and sense of the infinite greatness and glory 
of God, from whom all good comes, and a sense of their own in- 
finite meanness and unworthiness, makes all the mercies they 

eive, infinitely the more endearing and engaging : for the mer- 
cies themselves now appear unspeakably the greater, in that they 
come from such a God, and to such creatures ; and the infinite 
goodness of God shines the brighter in every mercy, and the/r< 
ness of his grace is the more conspicuous, on account of which he 
is infinitely amiable. The infinite greatness and glory of God, 
m general, ravishes the heart — the infinite moral beauty of the 
divine goodness and grace, in particular ', ravishes the heart ; and 
now, that such a God should shew such kindnesses to such a crea- 
ture, is very affecting. Who am I, Lord God? And what is 
my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto ? says holy David 
....And is this the manner of men, Lord God ? No surely.... 
Wherefore thou art great, Lord God : For there is none like 



86 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

thee, neither Is there any God besides thee. ...II. Sam.- vii. 18—23. 
God is loved for the kindnesses bestowed ; but he is more loved 
for the infinite beauty of that goodness which is displayed in the 
bcstowment of them, and for his being altogether such a one as 
he is. So the §>ueen of Sheba esteemed Solomon for the kind- 
nesses he shewed her, but primarily, and much more, for his own 
personal excellencies : And his personal excellencies made her 
esteem his favors to her of much greater worth. That a glorious 
and ever-blessed God should treat sinners so, is infinitely endear- 
ing. Now these sensations, which a true believer has, and his 
love to God arising therefrom, must be vastly different from ev- 
ery thing which natural men experience, who know not God, 
and have no higher principle in them than self-love. 

(2.) Let it also be remembered, that God designs, by all his 
dealings and kindnesses to his people, to bring them nearer to 
himself m this world, and to the everlasting enjoyment of himself 
in the world to come. He means, for the present, to humble 
them, and wean them from the world.... to make them more 
spiritually and heavenly-minded.. ..to bring them to be more 
acquainted with God, and more entirely to take up their 
rest and contentment in him ; and, therefore, all things are cal- 
culated, by his infinite wisdom and goodness, to attain this end. 
And this causes all the wise and kind dealings of God, outward- 
ly in his providence, and inwardly by his spirit, and that both by 
way of correction, as well as by way of consolation, to appear 
in a very affecting and engaging light to true believers. While 
they see what God is in himself, and his infinite beauty in being 
such,. ..while they see how infinitely sufficient he is to be all 
things to them, and to do all things for them, and the blessedness 
of living wholly upon him, and trusting wholly in him.. ..while 
they see God calculating all things to bring them to him, and 
actually find all things working this way, their obligations to love 
him and live to him appear infinitely binding, and their hearts 
are mightily engaged and animated. This view of things makes 
all their afflictions appear as great mercies ; because they are so 
widely calculated to bring them near to God : Psalm cxix. 71. 



SISTIKGUISHLD FRO:>I ALL COUNTERFEITS, 87 

This view of things adds an infinite value to all the kindnesses 
of God, over and above what they are worth merely in them* 
selves, because they are all so wisely calculated to bring them 
near to God. This is the kernel of all that tender mercy and 
loving kindness which they see in all their afflictions, and in all 
their comforts : Heb. xii. 10, 1 1 — Rom, viii. 28. To be brought 

r to God, is worth more than all the world ; — there is no por- 
tion like God.. ..no comfort like that which is to be taken in him ; 
He is the godly man's all. Psalm lxxiii. 25.. ..Whom have I 
in heaven but thee f And there is nothing on earth I desire besides 
thee. And now that such a God should take such methods, with 
hist such a creature, to bring him to the possession of such a 
good, is the most amazing goodness, and the most astonishing 
grace. Now here is a sense of the excellency of the divine na- 
ture in general, and a sense of the moral beauty of the divine 
goodness in particular, and of the unspeakable mercy God shews 
to them, which mercy is infinitely magnified in their account, 
from the value they have for God, as the portion of their souls, 
from all which their love to God takes its rise ; whereby their 
love appears to be exceedingly different from any thing which na- 
tural men experience, who neither know God, nor relish com- 
munion with him, but are contrary to him in ail things ; and, on- 
ly from self-love, are glad of the good things they receive from 
God, which good things they live upon and make a God of— p 
whether they be worldly good things, or great light, and com- 
tuit, and joy of a religious nature. 

) Let it also be remembered, that all God's gifts to his peo- 
ple are so many talents bestowed upon them, ultimately to be im* 
proved for God, whereby they are put under advantages to glo- 
rify God and do good in the world: And the more they have of 

i Idly substance. ..of natural powers.. .of acquired accomplish- 
ments, and of the gracious influences of the holy spirit, &c. the 
greater are their advantages to act for God, to promote his hon- 
or and interest, and to do good. Now, in proportion as they 
love God, in the same proportion is his honor and interest, and 
the good and welfare of his creatures and subjects, dear unto 

N 



88 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

them. The interest and honor of God lie nearer to the hearts 
cf his people, than their parents, or consorts, or children, or 
houses and lands — yea, than their own lives ; {Lake xiv. 26.) 
To be under advantages, therefore, to promote his honor and 
interest, must, in their account, be esteemed an inestimable priv- 
ilege. Hence, they love God for all things they receive from 
him, because by all they are put under such advantages to live 
to him and serve him, seeking his interest, and honor, and glo- 
ry ; a remarkable instance of which we have in Ezra, that hearty 
friend to God, and to his honor and interest.... See Ezra vii. 
27, 28, compared with the rest of the chapter. Now herein, 
again, their love to God for his benefits is evidently different 
from any thing which natural men experience, who have no 
higher principle than self-love, and are entirely actuated by it. 

And as the love of the saint and of the hypocrite thus greatly 
differ in their nature, so do they also differ as greatly in their 
fruits and effects. Ezra loved God greatly for his kindnesses 
to him, because thereby he was put under advantages to do so 
much for God's glory, and for the good of his people. And now 
see how active he is for God, and how he exerts himself to do 
good, and to reform every thing that was amiss among the Jews, 
from the eighth chapter and on ; while the hypocritical Jews, 
who, no doubt, were also greatly affected with the mercy of God, 
in their deliverance from their long captivity, were so far from 
being active for God, that they, not caring for his honor or his 
laws, committed great abominations.... Ez ram. 1. So the chil- 
dren of Israel, at the Red-Sea, seemed to be full of love to God, 
as well as Moses ; but as they had different sorts of love, so their 
carnage did as greatly differ afterwards, for the course of forty 
years : and no wonder. . . .for the hypocritical Israelites only loved 
themselves, and cared only for their own interest ; but Moses 
loved God, and cared, above all things, for his honor. 

Thus we see, not only what additional obligations believers 
are under to love God with all their hearts, but also how, and 
in what manner, they influence and excite them so to do : and 
what I have offered effectually obviates the common plea of 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 89 

formalists and all self-seekers, Tlzat all the saints in scripture 
are represented as loving God for Ids-benefits ; whence they ar- 
gue, that they are right, and their religion genuine, which results 
merelv from self-love, and the fear of hell, and hope of heaven, 
or from a confident persuasion that their sins are pardoned ; 
For it is evident, that true saints do not love God for his bene- 
fits, nor eye their own happiness, in the same manner that such 
men do ; but in a manner altogether different. Saints know the 
God they love, and love him, primarily, for what he is in him- 
self, and because he is just w r hat he is : But hypocrites know 
not God, nor love him. ; but are, in all things, contrary to him, 
and are only pleased with the false image of God they have 
framed in their fancies, merely because they think that he loves 
them, and has done, and will do, great things for them.. Saints 
are affected with the divine goodness, itself, for the moral beauty 
there is in it ;. but hypocrites, are affected only with the fruits 
and effects of divine goodness to them, as tending to make them 
happy. Saints love God for his benefits, under a real sense of 
their infinite unworthiness of the least of them ; but so it is not 
with hypocrites. Saints love God for all the streams of di- 
vine goodness, because they are designed, and actually do, lead 
them up to God, the fountain, who is the portion of their/ souls : 
Bat hypocrites live upon the streams, disrelishing the fountain. 
Saints love God, dearly, for all his gifts, because by them they 
are put under such advantages to live to God, to promote his. 
interest and honor, and to do. good in the world ;_ but hypocrites 
are confined within the narrow circle, self*. The lave of saints to 
God animates them to live to God, and to exert themselves to 
promote his honor and interest, and to do all the good they can : 
but the hypocrite, after all his pretended love to God, cares not 
what becomes of his interest and honor, if it may but go well 
with him, his friends and party : So that, while true saints love 
God for his benefits, they act, in a gracious manner, conforma- 
ble to the law of God, and to the reason and nature of tilings ; 
whereas, all the love of the most refined hypocrite is m< r Ly 
the workings of a natural self-love, in a manner directly contra- 



90 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AN0 

ry to the law of God, and to the reason and nature of things ; 
and is nothing but mere mockery.. ..Psalm lxxviii. 34, 35, 36, 
37 — -Zec/i. vii* 5, 6. 

Thus we have gone through the two first general heads, and 
see -what is implied in love to God, -and from what motives we 
ought to love him : And, from the whole, we may learn so much 
oi the nature of true religion, as that, with much evidence and 
certainty, we may conclude, 

First, That all that seeming love to God is counterfeit, xvhkk 
arises merely from merts corruptions being gratified : As when 
ambitious men are, by God's providence, raised to high degrees 
of honor, and worldly men are prospered in all which they put 
their hands unto, and herefrom the one and the other rejoice 
and bless God, and seem to love him, and verily think they are 
sincere : This is all hypocrisy ; for, in truth, they only love 
their corruptions, and are glad they are gratified* And accor- 
dingly, instead of improving all their riches and honor for God, 
to advance his interest and honor in the world, they improve 
all only for themselves, to promote their own ends ; and care 
not what becomes of God's honor, and interest, and kingdom ; 
and commonly such men shew themselves the greatest enemies 
to the cause of God, and to the religion of Christ : and should 
God but touch all they have, they would curse him to his face. 

Secondly, We may be equally certain, that all that seeming 
love to God is counterfeit, that arises merely from a legal, self 
righteous spirit : As when a man, only because he is afraid of 
hell, and has a mind to be saved, sets himself to repent, and re* 
form, and do duties, and tries to love God and aim at his glory, 
to the intent that he may make some amends for past sins and 
recommend himself to the divine favor, and so to escape hell 
and obtain heaven i And when he has grown so good, as to 
have raised hopes of attaining his end, he is ravished at the 
thoughts, and rejoices, and blesses the Lord, and loves him. 
It is plain all this is hypocrisy : for the man, in truth, only loves 
himself, and is concerned merely for his own interest ; but does 
not care at ail for God, his glory or honor : for, if there 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. §1 

were no heaven nor hell, such would serve God no more. Chil- 
dren will work for their parents, without being hired, because 
they love them: but hirelings will not strike a stroke if there is 
no money to be gotten ; because they care for nothing but their 
own interest : Hence this sort of hypocrites are wont to say, 
that if they once believed that God had made no promises to 
the best thev can do, they would never do more. And farther, 
k is plainly all hvpocrisv ; for, if their consciences but fall asleep, 
so that they are troubled no more with the thoughts of another 
world, thev will leave off their duties, let down their watch, 
break all their resolutions, and be as bad as ever : and hence 
their doctrine of falling from grace probably tool: its rise. And 
their hypocrisy is still more evident, in that they are common- 

so much concerned to find out what the least measure of sa- 
ving grace is, and so strenuous in pleading for great abatements 
in the law : for, from hence, it is plain, that all they are after 
is onlv to get just grace enough to carry them to heaven ; as a 
lazv hireling, who is for doing but only just work enough to 
pass for a day's work, that he may get his wages at night, 
which is all he wants. 

Thirdly, We maybe as certain, that all that seeming love 
is count vrj Isit \~vhich arises merely from a strong confidence which 
a man has, that his sins are pardoned, and that Christ loves /'...:, 
andwill save him : As when a man is under great terrors, and 
has fearful apprehensions of hell and damnation ,and is re?, dv even 
to give himself up for lost : but suddenly great light breaks in- 
to his mind ; he sees Christ with his arms open and smiling, and it 
may be his blood running, and hears him, as it were, say, Be 
of good cheer , thy sins are for given thee.... I have loved thee ivith 
en everlasting love., ..Come, thou blessed of my Father, inherit the 
kingdom ; — and now he is certain that his sins are pardoned, 
and that heaven is his, and he is even ravished with jov, and 
calls upon all to praise the Lord : For all this proceeds merely 
from self-love, and there is no ieve to God in it : for all this 
love arises from his false confidence, and not from an)' true 
knowledge of God ; and commonly such turnout as the Israel- 



92 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

ites did, who sang God^s praise at the Red- Sea, when Pharaoh 
and his hosts were drowned, and they delivered, and their hopes 
of getting to Canaan highly raised; but they soon for gat his 
xvorks, and rebelled against him, and their carcases fell in the 
wilderness. They loved themselves, and therefore they rejoi- 
ced at their wonderful deliverance; they foved themsekes, 
and therefore they murmured three days after, when they came 
to the bitter waters : Their joys and their murmurings pro- 
ceeded from the very same principle, under different circum- 
stances ; but die love of God was not in them : and just this is 
the case here. And this is commonly the event, that, the fears 
of hell being now over, their joys gradually abate, and they 
grow more and more secure, till, after a while, they return to 
folly, as the dog to his vomit, and as the sow that was washed 
to her wallowing in the mire ; and so are as bad, and sometimes 
worse than ever.. ..(II. Pet. ii. 20, 21, 22.) And now they 
plead, that the best are dead sometimes, and that David and Pe- 
ter had their falls j and so keep their consciences as quiet as 
they can : and thus they live along whole months and years to- 
gether. 

Fourthly, and lastly, We may also be certain, that all that 
seeming love to God,rvhich arises me rely from the gratification of 
spiritual pride, is counterfeit : As when men dream dreams, see 
visions, and hear voices, and have impressions and revelations 
wherebv thev are setup in their own esteem, and in the opinion 
of others, for some of the most peculiar favorites of heaven, and 
very best men in all the world ; and hence they rejoice, and 
bless God and mightily love him : but, in truth, they are only 
ravished with self-conceit, and feel blessedly to think themselves 
some of the best men in the world, and to think they shall short- 
ly sit at the right hand of Christ in heaven, among the apostles 
and martyrs, while their persecutors and haters will be burning 
in hell : but they neither know God nor love him ; and, for the 
most part, by heretical doctrines, or wicked lives, or both, are a 
scandal to religion : These are so far from being truly religious, 
that theij are the very tares which the devil sores.,. .Mat. xiii. 39. 



EXTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 93 

In each of these sorts of love there are these three defects or 
faults : — (1.) They have no true knowledge oi God ; and so (2.) 
they only love themselves ; and (3.) their seeming love to God 
arises from a mistake* The ambitious and worldly man thinks 
himself very happy, because he rises in honor and estate ; the 
list thinks that God loves him, and will save him for his 
duties ; the next firmly believes that his sins are pardoned ; and 
the hist, that God looks upon him one of the best men in the 
world ; but all are wofully mistaken ; and when, at the day of 
judgment, they come to see their mistake, their love to God will 
vanish away, and they turn everlasting haters and blasphemers 
of the most High. And another defect in these and all 
other sorts of counterfeit love, is, that they none of them will 
ever make men truly obedient : for when men's seeming to love 
God is nothing but self-love in another shape, all their seeming 
obedience will, in reality, be nothing but self-seeking: They 
may pretend to be the servants of God, but will only mean, ul- 
timately, to serve themselves. 

sectiox in. 

CONCERNING THE MEASURE OF LOVE TO GOD REQUIRED IN 

THE DIVINE LAW. 

I proceed now to the next thing proposed, which was, 
III. To show what is that measure cf love to God, wfiich the 
Taw requires of all mankind* — And our blessed Savior clears up 
this point in the most plain and familiar language : — Thousli 

the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy sou!, 
and with all thy mind ; and it is added, in Mark xii. 30, With all 
thy strength ; i. e. in other words, we ought to love God in a 
measure exactly proportionable to the largeness of our natural 
powers and faculties ; which to do, is all that perfection which 
God ever required of any of his creatures.* 

* The law runs *hus : Thou tbalt tome the Lord thy £ ' vitb kUL th*> 

heart j Cs.c. a God is to have the 

We < i ; but a much lest degree is due to ourselves and hi 
hors : So that, according to the tenur of the law, our love tu God is to be 
greater and more fervent, than our love to ourselves. And therefore th« 
law does suppose that God is worthy of our supreme love for * hat he is 



94 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

When the law requires us to love God with all our hearts, 
either means, to the utmost extent of our natural capacity, or 
else only to the utmost extent of our moral capacity ; u e. only 
so much as we are inclined to : And then the less we are incli- 
ned to love God, the less love is required ; and so, if we have 
no heart, no inclination to love him, then no love at all is requi- 
red : And, according to this rule, the carnal mind, which is 
enmity against God, is not in duty bound to be subject to the 
law, neither indeed can be : And where there is no law, there is 
no transgression ; — where there is no duty required, there can 
be no sin committed : and so the vilest of mortals are the freest 
from sin, and the least to blame ; which is the grossest absurdity. 
When, therefore, the law requires us to love God with all our 
hearts, it has no reference to our moral inclination, but only to 
our natural capacity : x\nd indeed nothing can be more unrea- 
sonable, than to suppose that the law only requires us to love 
God so far as we have a heart and disposition to do so ; for 
this would leave us entirely at liberty to do otherwise, if we 
were so inclined, and, in effect, it would make the law say, If 
you feel inclined to love God, more or less, so far it is your ditty, 
but farther you are not bound, but are at your liberty ; i. e. the 
law is not binding, any farther than you are inclined to obey it ; 
i. e. in reality it is no lata, but every man is left to do as he plea- 
ses : The whole heart, therefore, does the law mean to require, 
let our temper, inclination, or disposition be what it will. 

God, the great author of all things, has been pleased to create 
intelligent beings of different sizes, some of a higher rank, and 
some of a lower — some of greater capacities, and some of less.... 



in himself, antecedent to any selfish consideration, from a sight and sense 
of which worthiness our love to God is primarily to take its rise : For, in 
the nature of things, it would be impossible for us, from self-love, to love 
God more than ourselves.:.. Or thus, the law requires us to love Goc\ more 
than ourselves ; but, in the nature of things, it is impossible that merely 
from self-love we should love God more than ourselves : therefore the hiw 
supposes that there is something in God to excite our love, antecedent to 
any selfish consideration, and that our love to him is not to proceed mere- 
ly from self-love : For, otherwise, the law requires us to do that which in 
its own nature is absolutely impossible... .And this, by the way, may serve 
still farther to confirm the tnuh of what has been before said.. 



DISTINGUISHED FROil ALL COUNTERFEITS, 95 

some are angels, and some are men ; and among the angels 
some are of larger natural powers, and some of smaller. So it 
is among the good angels, and so it is among the evil angels : 
There are angels and arch-angels, i. e. beings of various natu- 
ral powers and capacities, among the good and bad : And so 
it is among men — among good and bad, there is a very great 
varietv — some have larger souls than others. 

Intelligent beings are capable of a degree of knowledge and 
love, exactly proportionable to their natural powers. Angels 
are capable of a degree of knowledge and love, greater than men, 
and one man af a greater degree than another. As they are of 
different sizes... .of larger and smaller natural powers, so their 
capacities to know and love are some greater, and some less : 
So it is among good and bad. 

All that perfection which God requires of any of his creatures, 
is a measure of knowledge and love bearing an exact proporti&ii 
to their natural abilities. Since God has manifested what he 
is, in his works and ways, and since he is infinitely glorious in 
being what he is, and has an original and entire right to his in- 
telligent creatures ; therefore he requires all angels and men to 
attend diligently to the discoveries which he has made of himself, 
and learn what he is, and behold his glory, and love him with all 
their hearts : This is the extent of what God requires of the 
highest angel in heaven, and this is exacdy what he requires of 
all the children of men upon earth. 

The law requires no more than this of mankind, under a no- 
tion that their natural powers are lessened by the fall. Whether 
wc are beings of as large natural powers as we should have been, 
had we never apostatized from God, or no, yet this is plain, we 
are no where in scripture blamed for having no larger natural 
powers, nor is any more ever required than all the heart, and all 
the soul, and all the mind, and all the strength : This is evident 
through the whole Bible. 

And the law requires /^/m 1 of mankind, undera notion that they 

are turned enemies to God, and have no heart or inclination to 

love him. Be it so, that mankind are ever so averse to attend to 

O 



95 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

those manifestations which God has made of himself, and ever so 
averse to take in right notions ofGod, and eversofarfrom adispo- 
sition to account him infinitely glorious in being what he is, and 
from an inclination to love him with alltheir hearts; yet the divine 
law makes no allowances,,.. no abatements ; but insists upon the 
same. ..the very same it ever did ; — Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart* 

Indeed, some do dream that the law is very much abated : 
But what saith the scriptures as to this point ? Does the word 
of God teach us that there is any abatement made ? Where do 
we read it ? Where is it plainly asserted, or in what texts is it 
implied ? Truly, I know nothing like it in all the Bible, nor what 
text of scripture this notion can be built upon : and besides, if 
the law is abated, when was is abated ? Was it abated immedi- 
ately upon Adam's fall? Surely no ; for, above two thousand 
years after, from Mount Sinai, God declared that he required 
sinless perfection, and threatened a curse against the man that 
should fail in the least point.... Ex od. xx. — DeuU xxvii. 26.— 
Was it abated upon Christ's coming into the world ? Surely no ; 
for he, in the strongest terms, taught his disciples that it was in 
full force, and that it was their duty to be perfectly holy, and 
that in designed opposition to the doctrine of the Pharisees, 
who, in effect, held that the law was abated... .Mat. v. 17 — 48* 
Was it abated after Christ's death and resurrection? Surely 
no; for St. Paul always taught that the Christian scheme of reli- 
gion, which he preached, did not make void, but rather estab- 
lished the law... .Rom. iii. 31 — and St. James insisted upon it, 
that it must not be broken in any one point.... j/V^/iV-v ii. 10. — 
When was it abated therefore ? Why, says Christ, Till heaven 
a/id earth shall pass away, one jot or tittle of the lata shall in no 
wise fail.... Mat. v. 18. And besides, if the law is abated, in 
what particular is it abated, mid how great are the abatements ? 
— Are there any abatements made in our duty to God ? Surely 
no ; for we are still required to love him with all our hearts, 
and more than this never was demanded : Or are any abate- 
ments made in our duty to our fellow-men ? Surely no ; for wc 






DISTINGUISHED FKOM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 

are still required to love cur neighbor as ourselves, and more 
than this never was enjoined : Or is there any abatement made 
in the internal part of our duty ? Surely no ; for the whole heart 
is still required, and more than this never was insisted upon : 
Or, finally, is there any abatement made in the external part of 
our duty ? Surelv no ; for we are still required to be holy in all 
manner of conversation, as he that hat called us is holy, (I. Pet. 
i. 15.) and more than this was never required : So that, from 
the whole, we have as much reason to think that the law requires 
sinless perfection now , as that ever it did : yea, this point can- 
not be plainer than it is : for the law, in fact, is the very same 
it was from the beginning, word for word, without the leat alte- 
ration : — Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
&c. and thy neighbor as thyself; so that, if it ever did require 
sinless perfection, it does noxv. 

The highest pitch of holiness, the saints in heaven will ever 
arrive to, will only be to love God with all their hearts ; and ex- 
actly the very same is required of every man upon earth : And 
it was because St. Paul understood the law in this sense, that 
he had always such a mean and low opinion of all his attain- 
ments ; for, while he compared what he was, with what he 
ought to be, he plainly saw bow the case stood : and therefore 
he says, The law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.... 
C wretched man that I am /...Rom. vii. 14, 21. 

So that, upon the whole, this seems to be the true state of the 
case :• — as there are various capacities among all intelligent crea- 
tures in general, so there are among men, in particular, souls of 
various sizes. ...some of larger natural capacities, and some of 
smaller ; but souls of different capacities, are capable of different 
degrees of love. A degree of love exactly equal to the natural 
capacity of the soul, is perfection : and this is what the law re- 
quires, nor more nor less; — all die heart, all die soiuV///the mind, 
all the strength. The saints and angels in heaven love God 
thus, andhence they are perfect in holiness ; and, so far as we 
fall short of this, we are sinful : This is the exaci rule of dut} . 
Ajfld now, this law is holy, just, and good. The thing required 



98 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

quired, is, in its own nature, right, fit, and suitable. God is 
worthy to be loved with all our hearts, and this is just what is 
required. It is right we should have a degree of love to our- 
selves, and it is right we should love our neighbors as ourselves ; 
but it is fit we should love God with all our hearts : Consider- 
ing what he is, and what we are, it is, in its own nature, infinite- 
ly fit and right ; and not to do so, infinitely unfit and wrong. 
Indeed, God is worthy of an infinitely greater degree of love 
than we, or any of his creatures, are capable of. He only is 
capable of a complete view of his own infinite glory, and of a full 
sense of his own infinite beauty, and of a love perfectly adequate 
to his own loveliness : and he does not require or expect any 
of his creatures to love him to that degree he loves himself ; 
only, as he loves himself with all his heart, so he requires and 
expects that they love him with all their hearts : And there be- 
ing the same reason for one as for the other, the law is, there- 
fore, in its own nature, perfectly right, and just, and equal. In- 
deed, had God required the most exalted of his intelligent crea- 
tures to have loved him in the same degree that he himself does, 
then the thing required would, in its own nature, have been ab- 
solutely impossible, and what he could have no reason to expect : 
Or, if he had required the meanest of his intelligent creatures to 
havelovedhimin the same degr eethat Gabriel does, it would have 
been a thing naturally impossible ; but now he only requires 
every one to love him with all their hearts, this is right.. ..perfect' 
\y right, just, and equal* Less than this could not, injustice, 
have been required of each one ; injustice, I mean, to the Deity, 
who ought to have his due from each one, and whose proper 
right the Governor of the world ought to assert and maintain. 

Thus we see the law is exactly upon a level with our natural 
capacities ; it only requires us to love God with all our hearts : 
and thus we see, that the law is, therefore, perfectly reasonable, 
just, and equal. Deut. x. 12....Andnorv, Lsrael, what doth the 
Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to 
walk in all his zvays, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy 
God with alx thy heart, and 'with all thy soul ? 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 99 

Hence, as to a natural capacity, all mankind are capable of 
a perfect conformity to this law ; for the law requires of no man 
any more than to love God with all his heart. The sinning 
angels have the same natural capacities now, as they had before 
thev fell ; they have the same faculties, called the understanding 
and will — they are still the same beings, as to their natural pow- 
ers. Once they loved God with all their hearts ; and now they 
hate him with all their hearts : Once .they had a great degree 
of love ; now they have as great a degree of hatred ; — so that 
they have the same natural capacities now as ever. Their 
temper, indeed, is different ; but their capacity is the same ; and, 
therefore, as to a natural capacity, they are as capable of a per- 
fect conformity to the law of their Creator as ever they were. 
So, Adam, after his fall, had the same soul that he had before, 
as to its natural capacities, though of a very different temper ; 
and, therefore, in that respect, was as capable of a perfect con- 
formity to this law, as ever. And it is plainly the case, that all 
mankind, as to their natural capacities, are capable of a perfect 
conformity to the law, from this, that when sinners are convert- 
ed they have no new natural faculties, though they have a nezv 
temper : and when they come to love God with all their hearts 
in heaven, still they will have the same hearts, as to their natu* 
ral faculties, and may, in this respect, be justly looked upon as 
the very same beings. In this sense, Paul was the same man 
when he hated and persecuted Christ, as when he loved him and 
died for him : and that same heart that was once so full of mal- 
ice, is now as full of love : So that, as to his natural capacities, 
he was as capable of a perfect conformity to this law, when he 
was a persecutor, as he is now in heaven. When, therefore, 
men cry out against the hoiy law of God, which requires us only 
to love him with all cur hearts, and say, " It is not just {or God 
" to require more than we can do, and then threaten to damn 
4t us for not doing," they ought to stay a while, and consider 
what they say, and tell what they mean by their can do ; for 
it is plain, that the law is exactly upon a level with our natural 
capacities, and that, in this respect, we ore fully capable of a per* 



100 TKUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

feet conformity thereto : And it will be impossible for us to 
excuse ourselves by an inability arising from any other quarter ; 
as will presently appear : For, to return, 

From what has been said, we may learn, that there can be 
nothing to render it, in any measure, a hard and difficult thing, 
to love God with all our hearts, but our being destitute of a 
right temper of mind, and having a temper that is tvro:ig : and 
that, therefore, we are perfectly inexcusable, and altogetlier and 
wholly to blame, that we do not. 

Ob j. But I do not know God ; how, therefore, can I love him ? 

Ans. Were you of a right temper, it would be your nature, 
above all things, to attend to those discoveries which he has 
made of himself in his works and in his word ; you would search 
for the knowledge of him, as men search for silver, and as they 
dig for hidden treasure : and, were you of a right temper, it 
would be natural to take in that very representation which God 
has made of himself : And now, was it but your nature to at- 
tend, with all your heart, to the discoveries which God has made 
of himself. ..and your nature to take in right notions of him, it 
would be impossible but that you should know zvhat God is ; be- 
cause he has acted out all his perfections so much to the life, and 
exhibited such an exact image of himself. The works of crea- 
tion and redemption, and all his conduct as moral Governor of 
the world, shew just what kind of Being he is : He has discov- 
ered his infinite understanding and almighty power, and he has 
shown the temper of his heart ; and all in so plain a manner, 
that, were it your nature to attend and consider, and take in 
right notions, it is quite impossible but that you should know 
and see plainly what God is. 

Obj. But if I have right notions of what God is, yet I cannot 
see his glory and beauty in being such ; how, therefore, can Hove 
hh:i ? 

Ans. Were you of a right temper, it would be your nature to 
account him infinitely glorious in being what he is. As it is the 
nature of an ambitious man to see a glory in applause, and of 
a worldiy man to see a glory in the things of the world, so it 



DISTINGUISHED tROfifl ALL COUNTERFEITS. 101 

would be vcur nature to see a glory in God ; for what suits our 
hearts,naturallv appears excellent in oureyes. {John viii. 42,47.) 

Obj. But I feel that I cannot love him ; how, therefore, am I 
:'ly to blame ? 

A.vs. The fault is in him, or in you : Either he is not love- 
lv, or else vou are of a very bad temper : but he is infinitely 
lovely ; and therefore it is only owing to the bad temper of your 
heart, and to your being destitute of a right temper, that you 
cannot love him ; and you, therefore, are wholly to blame : In- 
deed you could not but love him, were you not a very sordid 
wretch. 

Obj. But to love God, or to have any dispositon to love him, is 

a thing supernatural, clean beyond the powers cf nature, im- 

to the utmost : how can I, therefore, be wholly to blame? 

Ans. It is a thing supernatural you say ; /. e. in other words, 

j have no heart to it, nor the least inclination that way ; nor 
is there any thing in your temper to work upon by motives to 
bring you to it ; and now, because you are so very bad a crea- 
ture, therefore you are not at all to blame : This is your argu- 
ment : But can you think that there is any force in it ? What \ 
are moral agents the less to blame the worse they grow ? And 
are God's laws no longer binding, than while his subjects are 
disposed to obey them ? 

Obj. But, after ail, I must needs reply, as Nicodemus hi 
anoti , How can these things be ? 

Ans. Why did not the Jews love their prophets, and love 

Christ and his apotles I What was it owing to ? And where did 

the blame lie I They were acquainted with them. ...heard them 

talk and preach, and saw their conduct, and could not but plain* 

lv p e their temper, and know what sort of disposition they 

were of, and what sort of men the}- were j and yet they did not 

like them ; but they hated them — they belied them, slandered 

and reproached them, and put them to death : And now what 

- die matter I What was the cause of ail this ? Were not 

ir prophets, and Christ and his apostles indeed lovely, and 

of their hearty esteem? Did not all that they said and did 



102 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

manifest them to be so ? Why, then, did they not love them ? 
— Was it not wholly owing 10 their not having a right temper 
of mind, and to their being of so bad a disposition ? And were 
they not wholly to blame ? — They might say of Christ, That 
they could see no form nor comeliness in him, wherefore they 
shuld desire him ; and where no beauty is seen, it is impossible 
there should be any love : But why did not he appear most 
amiable in their eyes ? And why were their hearts not ravish- 
ed with his beauty i — His disciples loved him, and Martha and 
Mary and Lazarus loved him ; and why did not the Scribes and 
Pharisees love him as much ? — Why, because his person and 
doctrines did not suit them, and were not agreeable to the tenu 
per of their hearts. The bad temper of their hearts made him 
appear odious in their eyes, and was the cause of all their ill- 
will towards him : And now, were they not to blame for this 
bad temper, and for all their bad feelings, and bad carriage to- 
wards Christ, thence arising ? Yes, surely, if ever any men were 
to blame for any thing. And now, if God, the father, had been 
in the same circumstances as God, the son, was then in, he 
would not have been loved a jot more, or treated a w T hit better 
than he was : Indeed it was that image and resemblance of the 
infinitely glorious and blessed God, w T hich was to be seen in 
their prophets — in Christ and his apostles, which was the very 
thing they hated him for : Therefore Christ says, He that ha- 
teth me, hateth my Father also..*. But now have they both seen and 
hated, both me and my Father. •*. John xv. 23, 24. And Christ 
attributes it entirely to their want of aright temper, and to the 
bad disposition of their hearts, that they did not love him, and 
love his doctrines. If God xvere your father, you ivoidd loveme.... 
John viii. 42. He that is of God (of a God-like temper) hear- 
eth God^s words : ye, therefore, hear them not, because ye are not 
of God, (Ver. 47.) In truth, the bottom of all your enmity is, 
that you are of your father, the devil, i. e. of just such a temper 
as he, ( Ver. 44.) And now, what think you, when Christ comes 
in flaming fire, to take vengeance en an ungodly world ? Will he 
blame the Scribes and Pharisees for not loving him with all their 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 103 

hearts, or no ? Or will he excuse the matter, and say, on their 
behalf, They could see no form nor comeliness in me .... I appear- 
ed very odious to them. ...they could not love ?ne....theij could not 
but hate me, and no man is to blame for not doing more than he 
can ? 

From the whole, it is plain that mankind are to blame, whol- 
ly to blame, and perfectly inexcusable, for their not having right 
apprehensions of God, and for their not having a sense of his 
glory in being what he is, and for their not loving him with all 
their heart ; because all is owing merely to their want of a right 
temper, and to the bad disposition of their hearts. 

Indeed, if we were altogether of such a temper, frame, and 
disposition of heart as we ought to be, it would be altogether 
as easy and natural fb love God with ail our hearts, as it is for 
the most dutiful child to love a tender and valuable parent : For 
God is really infinitely amiable ; and were we of such a temper, 
he would appear so in our eyes ; and did he appear so in our 
eyes, we could not but love him with all our hearts, and delight 
in him with all our souls ; and it would be most easy and natu- 
ral so to do ; for no man ever found any difficulty in loving that 
which appears very amiable in his eyes : For the proof of which 
I appeal to the experience of all mankind. And now, why does 
not God appear infinitely amiable in our eyes ? Is it because 
he has not clearly revealed zvhat he is, in his works and in his 
word ? Surely no ; for the revelation is plain enough. Is it 
because he is not infinitely amiable in being what he is ? Surely 
no ; for all heaven are ravished with his infinite beauty. What 
is it, then, that makes us blind to the infinite excellency of the 
divine nature ? Why, it can be owing to nothing but a bad tem- 
per of mind in us, and to our not being of such a temperas 
we ought to be. For I appeal to the experience of all mankind, 
whether those persons and things which suit the temper of their 
hearts, do not naturally appear amiable in their eyes : And 
certainly, if God does not suit the temper of our hearts, it '15 
not owing to any fault in him, but the fault must be wholly in 
ourselves. If the temper and disposition of God (i. e, his mor- 

P 



104 TEUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

al perfections,) be not agreeable to our temper and disposition, 
most certainly our temper and disposition are very wrong. Ij 
Godxvere your father, ye would love me ; but ye are of your 
father the devil, therefore ye hate me....(y<2/m viii. 42,44.) i. e. 
" If you were of a temper like God, ye would love me ; but be- 
ing of a contrary temper, hence you hate me. If you were of 
a right temper, I should appear amiable unto you ; and it is 
wholly owing to your bad temper, that I appear otherwise. If 
ye were Abraham' *s children, ye would do the works of Abraham" 
•...(verse 39.) 

Ob j. But be it so, yet I cannot help being of such a temper as 
lam of; how, therefore, am /wholly to blame ? 

Ans. You have as much power to help being of such a tem- 
per, as the scribes and Pharisees had ; but Christ judged them 
to be wholly to blame, and altogether inexcusable. They could 
not like Christ or his doctrine : Ye cannot hear my word, says 
Christ, (verse 43) ; but their cannot.. ..their inability, was no 
excuse to them in Christ's account, because all their inability, 
he plainly saw, arose from their bad temper, and their want of 
a good disposition. And, although they had no more power 
to help being of such a temper than you have, yet he judged 
them wholly to blame, and altogether inexcusable. (John viii. 
33 — $>7....John xv. 22 — 25.) And now we know, that his judg- 
ment is according to truth. But, in order to help you to see in- 
to the reason of the thing, I desire you seriously and impartial- 
ly to consider, 

1. That sinners are free and voluntary in their bad temper. 
A wicked world have discovered a very strong disposition to 
hate God, even from the beginning : And the Jewish nation, 
God's own peculiar people, of whom, if of any, we might hope 
for better things, were so averse to God and his ways, that they 
hated and murdered the messengers which he sent to reclaim 
them, and, at last, even murdered God's own Son. And now, 
whence was all this ? Why, from the exceeding bad and wick- 
ed temper of their hearts. They have hated me without a cause 
....John xv. 25. But did any body force them to be of such a 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 105 

bad temper ? Surely no \ they were hearty in it. Were they 
of such a bad temper against their wills P Surely no; their 
wills.,.. their hearts were in it : Yea, they loved their bad tem- 
per, and loved to gratify it, and hence were mightily pleased 
with their false prophets, because they always prophesied in 
their favor, and suited and gratified their disposition : and 
they hated whatsoever was disagreeable to their bad temper, and 
tended to cross it ; and hence were they so enraged at the 
preaching and the persons of their prophets....ofChristandhis 
apostles ; so that they were manifestly voluntary and hearty in 
their bad temper. We have loved sir angers, and after them we 
WiLL^s....Jer. ii. 25. But as for the word which thou hast 
spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, xve will not hearken 
unto thee.... Jew xliv. 16. And the Lord God of their fathers 
sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending ; 
because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling- 
place : but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his 
words, and misused his prophets, &C...II. Chron. xxxvL 15, 16. 
And so, all wicked men are as voluntary in their bad temper 
as they were. The temper of the mind is nothing but the ha- 
bitual inclination of the heart : but an involuntary inclination of 
the heart is a contradiction ; And the stronger any inclination 
is, the more full and free the heart and soul is in the thing. 
Hence the bad temper, or the habitual bad inclination of the de- 
vil is at the farthest distance from any compulsion — he is most 
perfectly free and hearty in it : And all sinful creatures being 
thus voluntary, free, and hearty in the bad temper of their 
minds ; or, in other words, the bad temper of the mind being- 
nothing but the habitual inclination of the heart, hence all must 
be to blame in a degree equal to the strength of their bad incli- 
nation. In a word, if we were continually forced to be of such 
a bad temper, entirely against our wilh, then we should not be 
to blame ; for it would not be at all the temper of our hearts : 
but so long as our bad temper is nothing else but the habitual 
frame, disposition, and inclination of our own hearts, without 
any manner of compulsion, we are perfectly without excuse, 



106 "MRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

and that whether we can help being of such a temper, or no. 
For, 

2. If a sinful creatures not being able to help his being of a 
bad temper, does in the least free him from blame ; then the more 
vile and sinful any creature grows, the less to blame will he be : 
because the more vile and sinful any creature grows, the less 
able is he to help his being of so bad a frame of heart : Thus, 
if a man feels a bad spirit towards one of his neighbors creep- 
ing into his heart, perhaps if he immediately resists it, he may 
be able easily to overcome and suppress it ; but if he gives way 
to it, and suffers it to take strong hold of his heart.. ..if he cher- 
ishes it until it grows up into a settled enmity, and keeps it in 
his heart for twenty years, seeking all opportunities to gratify it 
by backbiting, defaming, &c. it will now, perhaps, be clean out 
of his power to get rid of it, and effectually root it out of his 
heart : It will, at least, be a very difficult thing. Now, the man 
is talked to and blamed for backbiting and defaming his neigh- 
bor, time after time, and is urged to love his neighbor as him- 
self, but he says he cannot love him ; But why cannot you ? For 
other men love him* Why, he appears in mij eyes the most odious 
and hateful man in the world* Yes, but that is owing to your 
own bad temper : Well, but I cannot help my temper, and there" 
fore 1 am not to blame. Now, it is plain, in this case, how weak 
the man's plea is ; and even common sense will teach all man- 
kind to judge him the more vile and blame-worthy, by how 
much the more his grudge is settled and rooted : And yet the 
more settled and rooted it is, the more unable is he to get rid of 
it. And just so it is here : Suppose a creature loved God with 
all his heart, but after a while begins to feel his love abate, and 
an aversion to God secretly creeping into his soul ; now, per- 
haps, he might easily suppress and overcome it : But if he gives 
way to it, until he loses all sense of God's glory, and settles into 
a state of enmity against him, it may be quite impossible ever 
to recover himself : And yet he is not the less, but the more 
vile, and so the more blame-worthy. If, then, we are so averse 
to God that we cannot love him ; and if our bad temper is so 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 107 

strong, so settled and rooted that we cannot get rid of it, this is 
so far from being matter of excuse for us, that it renders us so 
much the more vile, guilty, and hell-deserving ; for to suppose 
that our inability, in this case, extenuates our fault. ...our inabili- 
tv which increases in proportion to our badness, is to suppose 
that the worse any sinner grows, the less to blame he is ; — than 
which, nothing can be more absurd. 

Obj. Bufrlivas brought into this state by Adam' *s fall. 

Ans. Let it be by Adam's fall, or how it will, yet if you arc 
an cnemv to the infinitely glorious God, your Maker, and that 
voluntarily, you are infinitely to blame, and without excuse ; 
for nothing can make it right for a creature to be a voluntary- 
enemy to his glorious Creator, or possibly excuse such a crime : 
It is, in its own nature, infinitely wrong— there is nothing, there- 
fore, to be said — you stand guilty before God : It is in vain to 
make this or any other pleas, so long as we are what we are, not 
by compulsion, but voluntarily : And it is in vain to pretend 
that we are not voluntary in our corruptions, when they are 
nothing else but the free, spontaneous inclinations of our own 
hearts. Since this is the case, every mouth xvill be stopped, and 
all the world become guilty before God, sooner or later. 

Thus we see, that, as to a natural capacity, all mankind are 
capable of a perfect conformity to God's law, which requires us 
only to love God with all our hearts : and that all our inability 
arises merely from the bad temper of our hearts, and our want 
of a good disposition ; and that, therefore, we are wholly to 
blame and altogether inexcusable. Our impotency, in one 
word, is not natural, but moral, and, therefore, instead of ex ten* 
uating, does magnify and enhance our fault. The more unable 
to love God we are, the more are rue to blame : Even as it was 
with the Jews.... the greater contrariety there was in their hearts, 
to their prophets.. ..to Christ and hie apostles, the more vile and 
blame-worthy were the}".* And in tliis light do the scriptures 

* Obj. But, says a. secure surer. • : ere is no contrariety in my heart 
to GlkI, I never bated God in my life ; lalwaft loved bim. 

Ans. The Scribes and Pharisees verily thought that they loved God, and 
that, if they had lived in the days of their fathers, they v» ould not have put 



108 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

constantly view the case. There is not one tittle in the Old 
Testament or in the New....inthelaworinthe gospel, that gives 
the least intimation of any deficiency in our natural faculties. — 
The law requires no more than all our hearts, and never blames 
us for not having larger natural capacities. The gospel aims 
to recover us to love God only with all our hearts, but makes 
no provision for our having any new natural capacity ; — as to 
our natural capacities, all is well : It is in our temper, in the 
frame and disposition of our hearts, that the seat of all our sin- 
fulness lies. Ezek. xii. 2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the 

midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not,... 
they have ears to hear, and hear not, for they area rebellious 
house. This is the bottom of the business : We have eyes to 
see, and ears to hear, and his glory shines all around us, in the 
heavens and in the earth. ...in his word and in his ways ; and his 
name is proclaimed in our ears ; and there is nothing hinders 
our seeing and hearing, but that we are rebellious creatures. — 
Our contrariety to God makes us blind to the beauty of the di- 
vine nature, and deaf to all his commands, counsels, calls, and 
invitations. We might know God, if we had a heart to know 
him ; and love God, if we had a heart to love him. It is noth- 
ing but our bad temper and being destitute of a right disposition 
that makes us spiritually blind and spiritually dead. If this 
heart of stone was but away, and a heart oi flesh was but in us, all 

the Prophets todeath. They were altogether insensible of the perfect con- 
trariety of their hearts to the divine nature. And whence was it ? Why, 
they had wrong notions of the divine Being, and they loved that false image 
which they had framed in their own fancies ; and so they had wrong no- 
tions of the Prophets which their fathers hated and murdered, and hence 
imagined that they should have loved them : But they saw a little what a 
temper and disposition Christ was cf, and him they hated with a perfect 
hatred. So there are multitudes of secure sinners and self-deceived hypo- 
crites, who verily think they love God; nevertheless, as soon as ever they 
open their eyes in eternity, and see just what God is, their love will vanish, 
and their enmity break out and exert itself to perfection. So that the rea- 
son sinners see not their contrariety to the divine nature, is their not seeing 
what God is. ...It must be so; for a sinful nature and an holy nature are 
diametrically opposite. So much as there is of a sinful disposition in the 
heart, so much of contrariety is there to the divine nature. If, therefore, 
we are not sensible of this contrariety, it can be owing to nothing but 
our ignorance of God, or not believing him to be what he really is....ifom. 
vii. 8,9. 






DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 109 

would be well : We should be able enough to see, and hear, and 
understand, and know divine things ; and should be ravished 
with their beauty ; and it would be most natural and easy to 
love God with all our hearts. 

And hence, it is most evident that the supreme Governor of 
the world has not the least ground or reason to abate his law, 
or to reverse the threatening ; nor have a rebellious world the 
least ground or reason to charge God with cruelty, and say, u It 
is not just that he should require more than xve can do, and 
threaten to damn us for not doing ;" for, from what has been 
said, it is manifest that the law is holy, just, and good : And that 
there is nothing in the way of our perfect conformity to it, but 
our own wickedness, in which we are free, and hearty, and vol- 
untary ; and for which, therefore, in strict justice, we deserve 
eternal damnation. The law is already exactly upon a level with 
our natural capacities, and it need not, therefore, be brought any 
lower : And there is no greater punishment threatened than our 
sin deserves ; there is, therefore, no reason the threatening 
should be reversed ; — as to the law, all is well, and there is no 
need of any alteration : And there is nothing amiss, but in our- 
selves. It is impudent wickedness, therefore, to fly in the face 
of God and of his holy law, and charge him with injustice and 
cruelty ; because, forsooth, we hate him so bad that we cannot 
find it in our hearts to love him ; and are so high-hearted and 
stout that we must not be blamed. No, we are too good to be 
blamed in the case, and all the blame, therefore, must be cast 
upon God and his holy law : Yea, we are come to that, in this 
rebellious world, that if God sends to us the news of pardon and 
peace through Jesus Christ, and invites us to return unto him 
and be reconciled, we are come to that, I say, as to take it as an 
high affront at the hands of the Almighty. u He pretends to 
u offer us mercy," (say God-hating, God-provoking sinners), 
"but he only mocks us ; for he offers all upon conditions which 
u we cannot possibly perform." This is as if they should say— 
u We hate him so much, and are of so high a spirit, that we can- 
44 not find in our hearts to return, and own the law to be just, by 



110 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

u which we stand condemned, and look to his free mercv, through 
" Jesus Christ, for pardon and eternal life ; and, therefore, if he 
u will offer pardon and eternal life upon no easier terms, he does 
u but dissemble with us, and mock and deride us in our misery." 
And since this is the true state of the case, therefore it is no 
wonder that even infinite goodness, itself, has fixed upon a day 
when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his 
mighty angels, in flaming fire, to take vengeance on them that 
know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
Christ : And then shall ungodly sinners be convinced of all their 
hard speeches which they have ungodlily spoken against the 
Lord: And then shall the righteousness of all God's ways be 
made manifest before all the world. 

To conclude — God, the great Lord of all, has threatened 
eternal damnation against all those who do not perfectly keep 
the law, (Gal. iii. 10,) even although they live and die in the 
midst of the heathen world.... Rom* i. 18, 19, 20 ; (of which 
more afterwards.) And at the day of judgment he will exe- 
cute the threatening upon all, (those only excepted, that are, 
by faith, interested in Christ and in the new covenant :) and 
his so doing will evidently be justifiable in the sight of all worlds, 
on this ground, viz. That they were not under a natural neces- 
sity of sinning, but were altogether voluntary in their disobe- 
dience. Luke xix. 27. ...Bui those mine enemies which would 
not that I should reign ever them, bring hither and slay them 
before vie. 

And this, by the way, is the very thing which stops the mouth 
of an awakened, convinced, humbled sinner, and settles him 
down in it, that he deserves to be damned, notwithstanding all 
his doings, viz. that he is what he is, notby compulsion, or through 
a natural necessity, but altogether voluntarily. There is noth- 
ing more difficult in the whole work preparatory to conversion, 
than to make the sinner see, and feel, and own, that it is just,... 
quite just... .altogether just and fair for God to damn him. He 
pleads, that he is sorry for all his sins, and is willing to forsake 
them all forever, and is resolved always to do as well as he can* 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. Ill 

He pleads, that he cannot help his heart's being so bad... .that he 

ij but that he rati* brought 

ch he could not possibly prevent, 

hand in. But when he comes, in a clear 

and rea manner, to see and feci the whole truth, viz. that 

dees not care for God, nor desire to, but is really an enemy 
to him in bi&*ery heart, and voluntarily so, and that all his fair 
es and promises, prayers and tears, are but mere hypoc- 
risy, arising only from self-love, and guilty fears, and mercena- 
ry hopes, now the business is done : For, says he, It matters 
not how I came into this condition, nor whether I can hell) having 
so bad a heart, since I am voluntarily just such a one as lam, 
Hy love and choose to be what lam. Rom. vii. 8, 9.... 
land I died. He feels himself without excuse, and 
-that his mouth is stopped, and that he must be forced to own 
the sentence just ; for he feels that it is net owing to any com- 
ix natural necessity, but that he is voluntarily and hear* 
tily such a one as he is : And now, and not till now, does he 
feel himself to be a sinner, completely so ; for he, all along be- 
fore, fancied some goodness to be in him, and thought himself 
in some measure excusable : and now, and not till now, is 
he prepared to attribute his salvation entirely to free and sove- 
jn grace. All along before he had something to say for 
:e the Pharisee : But, with the publican, he now 
that he lies at mercy.... Luke xviii. 13. This is the very dung 
t makes all mankind to blame, altogether to blame, for being 
are, namely — that they are voluntarily so ; this is 
the reason they deserve to be damned for being so, and this, 
en seen and felt by the awakened sinner, effectually stops 
his D 

And//..' , istheven hat makes believers see them- 

to blame tor not being perfectly holy, and lays a 
foil] q for their fur their want of a pet ft 

formitv to the They feci their defects are not the resuh 

of a natur it only of the remains of their ol 

*ion t(; ich, bo far as they ar 9fi 

Q ' 



112 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

voluntary in.* And hence they cry out, I am carnal, sold wi- 
der sin, wretched ir.ari that lam /...Rom, vii. 14, 24; and set 
themselves down for beasts vn&Jbols.... Psalm lxxiii. 22. 

And finally, this want of a good temper.... this voluntary and 
stubborn aversion tc God, and love to themselves, the world 
and sin, is all that renders the immediate influences of the ho- 
ly spirit so absolutely necessary, or indeed at all needful, to 
recover and bring them to love God with all their hearts. A 
bare representation of what God is, were men of a right temper, 
would ravish their hearts ; for his beauty and glory are infinite. 
It is nothing, therefore, but their badness that makes it needful 
that there should be line upon line, and precept upon precept. 
It is their aversion to God, that makes any persuasions at all 
needful ; for, were they of a right temper, they would love God 
with all their hearts, of their own accord* And surely, were not 

* Obj. " But does not St. Paul say, in Rom. vii. 18, To will is present with 
" me ; but how to perform that which is good, I find not . ? " 

Aks. ? Tis true, he had a strong disposition to be perfectly holy, but his 
disposition was not perfect. He had a strong disposition to love God su- 
premely, live to him entirely, and delight in him wholly, but his whole heart 
was not perfectly disposed to do so. There was a spirit of aversion to God, 
and love to sin, remaining in him. In one, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good 
&&/??£-.... and this was the ground and cause of all his impotency : So that 
when he says, To will is present with vie, hut how to perform that which is 
good, I find not, he means, " To be in a measure disposed to love God su- 
*' premely, live to him entirely, and delight in him wholly, is natural and 
" easy ; but how to get my whole heart into the disposition, I find not — it 
" is beyond me, through the remains of the flesh, i. e. of my native contra- 
" riety to God, and love to sin :" Which remaining contrariety to God, and 
propensity to sin, so far as he was unsanctified, he was voluntary in ; but so 
far as he was sanctified, he perfectly hated. With my mind, I myself serve the 
law of God, hut with my flesh the law of sin. ...ver. 25. And so the spirit lusted 
against the flesh, and the flesh against the spirit ; and these two were contrary 
the one to the other, and hence he could not do the things that he would., .Gal. /. 17. 

Obj. " But does not St. Paul speak several times, in Rom. vii. as if he 
" was ndt' properly to blame for his remaining-corruptions, when he says, It 



is not I, but sin that dwelleih in ma /" 



Ans. He only means, by that phrase, to let us know that his remaining 
corruption was not the governing principle in him : according to what he 
had said in Rom. vi. 14... .Sin shall not have the dominion over you. for ye are 
not under the law, buz under grace : but does not a 1 nil design to insinuate, 
that he did not see himself to blame, yea wholly to blame, for his remaining 
corruption.. ..For though he says sometimes, It is not J, Out sin that awelleth 
in me, yet, at other times, I am carnal, sold under sin... ver. 14. Otaretcbed 

man that I am ver. 24 — like a broken-hearted penitent. Eut he could not 

have mourned for his remaining -corruption as being sinful, if he had not 
felt himself to blame for it. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 113 

men very bad indeed, there would be no occasion for his am- 
bassrdors with such earnestness to beseech them : We pray you, 

says the apostle, in Clirisfs stead, be ye reconciled to God.. ..II. 
Cor. v, 20. But now, that all external means that can possibly 
be used.. ..ail arguments, and motives, and entreaties, urged in 
tforceable manner, should not be able to recover men 
to ood, no not one, in all the world, without the immediate in- 
fluences of the holy spirit, can surely be attributed to nothing 
short of this, that an apostate world are, in very deed, at enmi- 
ty against God, and their contrariety to him is mightily settled 
and rooted in their hearts — mightily settled and rooted indeed, 
that Paul was nothing, and Apolhs nothing, and all their most 
vigorous efforts nothing ; so that without the immediate influen- 
ces of the holy spirit, not one, by them, although the best preach- 
ers, of mere men, that ever lived, could be persuaded to 
turn to God. ...I. Cor. iii. 7 ; but that the world should, in fact, 
rise in arms, and put the messengers of heaven to death, seems 
to argue enmity and malice, to the highest degree. It is men's 
badness that keeps them from taking in right apprehensions of 
God, and that makes them blind to the beauty of the divine na- 
ture, and that makes them hate God, instead of loving him : 
but for this, they would love God of their own accord, without 
anymore ado. If God were ij our father , (says Christ) ye -would 
hoe me ; ye are of your father the devil, therefore ye hate me. 
Surely, then, all the world are inexcusable, and wholly to blame, 
for their continuance in sin, and justly deserve eternal damna- 
tion at the hands of God, as was before said : Nor is it any ex- 
cuse to say, M God does not give me sufficient grace to mike 
11 me better ; n since I might love God, with all my heart, of 
own accord, with all the ease in the world, if I were but of a 
right temper : Yea, such is his glory and ', that I could 

not but be ravished with it, were I such as I ought to be ; and 
my needing any special grace to make me love God, arg 
that I am an enemy to him, a vile, abominable wretch, not tit 
to live : And to pretend to excuse myself, and say, " I cannot, 
u and God will not make me," is just as bad as if a rebellious 



114 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

child should go to his father, and say, a I hate you, and cannot 
" love you, and God will not, by his almighty power, make m< 
" better, and therefore I am not to blame ;" for the wretch coul< 
not but love his good father, \\«ere it not that he is so exceed- 
ingly vitiated in his temper. If our impotency consisted ii 
and resulted from our want of natural capacities. ...if it was the 
business of the holy spirit to give us new natural faculties, then 
we might plead our inability, and plead God's not giving us suf- 
ficient power, in excuse for ourselves : But since all our impo- 
tency takes its rise entirely from anouier quarter, and all our 
need of the influences of the holy spirit to bring us to love God 
results from our badness, therefore are w T e without excuse, al- 
though God leaves us entirely to ourselves : And indeed no- 
thing can be more absurd than to suppose the Governor of the 
world obliged to make his creatures love him, in spite of ail their 
aversion ; or more wicked than to lay die blame of their not lov- 
ing him, upon him, in case he does not... .Jer. vii. 8. 9, 10 — 16. 

Gbj. But if it be granted that metis natural pozvers are ade- 
quate with the laxv of God, and so they, as to their natural capa- 
cities, are capable of a perfect conformity to the law; and if it be 
granted that the outward advantages, which all have who live un- 
der the gospel, are sufficient, were men but of a right temper, to 
lead them to the true knowledge of God, and so, that all such are 
without excuse ; yet, if any part of mankind do not enjoy suffi* 
cient outzvard advantages for the true knozvledge of God, without 
which it is impossible they should either love or serve him, hozv can 
such justly and fairly be acccounted altogether to blame, and whol- 
ly inexcusable ? If the heathen, zvh o have no other outzvard ad- 
vantages whereby to gain the true knozvledge of God, than the 
works of creation and providence, do but honestly improve what 
they have, shall not they be accepted, although they fall short of 
sinless perfection P Or is it right and fair that they should be 
damned ? 

Ans. I suppose that those advantages, which all mankind 
do actually enjoy, would be sufficient to lead them to a true 
knowledge of God, and so to love and serve him, were they oi 



DISTINGUISHED JROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 115 

a right disposition, and were it not for the prejudices that blind 
and darken their minds, which arise from their enmity to God, 
and love to themselves, the world, and sin..,. 7? ;,;>?, i. 20, 28 : 

;d I suppose that God, the wise and holy, just and good 
Governor of the world, is under no natural obligation to use 
any supernatural means for the removal of those prejudices ; 
(Horn. ix. 15.) especially considering that men love them, and 
are obstinate in them, and will not let them be removed if they 
can help it, as is, in fact, the case.. ..7?:;??. i. 18, 28 — Jahniii. 19: 
And I suppose that, since the law is holy, just and good, no- 
thing short of sinless perfection cow, or ou^ht to, pass with the 
supreme Law-giver and Judge of the world, as a condition of 
acceptance. ...Gal. hi. 10 — Rom. hi. 20 : And I suppose that 
God was under no obligations to provide a Savior to bear the 
curse of the law, and answer its demands for any, since all are 
voluntarily at enmity against him and his la w.„.R om. v. 8. 
Upon the whole, I suppose that all mankind might have been 
left in their fallen state, without a Savior, or any offers of par- 
don and peace, or any supernatural advantages whatsoever ; 
and that vet their natural obligations to love God with all their 
hearts, would have by no means ceased ; and that it would have 
been perfectly just and right with God, to have inflicted eternal 
damnation upon us, for our not doing so. ...Rom. i. 18, and iii. 
19. And besides, I suppose that all the nations of the earth 
might have had the gospel preached to them, and, to this day, 
enjoyed it, had not the world been in arms against it, and killed 
the messengers of peace, who were sent to carry the glad tidings 
of pardon and salvation round the world.... J fat. xxviii. 19 : 
And I suppose, that still, in every age of the Christian church, 
there have been ministers oi Christ, who would gladly goto the 
farthest parts of the earth, to carry the joyful news of a Savior, 

re men but willing to receive the news, and repent, and con- 
vert, and return to God : I know, there are such in this age ; from 
all which, I suppose that it is right, fair, and just, for God to exe- 
cute the threatening of his law according to his declared design 
•..Rom. ii. 5, 6. Thus much in general ; but, to be more particular, 



116 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

1. It is plain that the heathen, as well as the rest of mankind, 
are under a law that forbids all sin, and requires perfect holi- 
ness. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all 
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, let them be Jexvs or 
Gent iles.... Horn* i. 18. And since God is what he is, and they 
his creatures, there is the same general ground and reason that 
they should love him with all their hearts, as that others should. 
And it is plain St. Paul looked upon the heathen under obliga- 
tions to glorify God as God, and be thankful.... Rom. i. 21 ; which 
is the sum of what is required in the first table of the law : And 
none will pretend that the heathen are not obliged to love their 
neighbors as themselves, and do as they would be done by ; 
which is the sum of what the second table requires : So that it 
is a plain case, that they are, by the law of nature, obliged to the 
same perfect holiness which is required, in God's written word, 
of the rest of mankind. 

2. It is plain, St. Paul looked upon them as enjoying suffi- 
cient means of knowledge, and so to be without excuse. Rom. 
i. 18.. ..For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all 
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in 
unrighteousness. " Who hold the truth in unrighteousness, i. e. 
" who, instead of heartily receiving, and loving, and conforming 
" to the truth, do, from love to their lusts, hate, and wickedly 
tt suppress, all right notions of God.... of truth and duty, stifling 
u their consciences. " But how do the Gentiles discover this 
aversion to the truth, who are under no advantages to know it ? 
u I answer," says the apostle, M their advantages are sufficient ; 
" for (verse 19.) That which maybe known of God is manifest 
u in them ; i. e. the perfections of God, which is all that is 
"knowabie of God, are discovered to them;" as he adds, "For 
* God hath shewed it unto themP But were not the perfections 
of God discovered to them so darkly as not to be sufficiently 
evident and perceivable ? u No," says he ; u for (verse 20.) 
" The invisible tilings of him, from the creation of the world, are 
"clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, 
4C even his eternal power and Godhead ; so that they are xvithout 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUltT$RFEITS. 117 

Excuse; i. e. ever since the creation of the world, the per- 
fections of God are clearly to be seen in his works, the things 
" which he has made manifesting plainly what a God he is : so 
u that those who see not his perfections, and are not sensihk- of 
"his infinite glery, cannot plead their want of sufficient outward 
u advantages, in excuse for their ignorance and insensibility ; and 
" therefore the heathen, who have this advantage, are without 
vcuse."* And, still farther to clear up the point, the apos- 
tle seems to go on, as it were, to sav — u Yea, it is evident that 
"the present ignorance of the Gentile nations is affected, and so 
u inexcusable, not only from the sufficiency of their present out- 
44 ward advantages, but also from their former misimprovement 
44 of the advantages which they heretofore did enjoy. Became 
" (ver. 21.) when they knew God, i. e. when the heathen nations 
"former!:' had right notions of God instilled into them, being 
u instructed in the knowledge of the true God, by Noah and his 
"sons, from whom they descended, yet then they glorified him 
:t as God, neither were thankful; their instructions had no 
ifluence upon them to make them holy : but they became 

; ns, and their fodUsh heart was darkened; 

44 i. c. they soon fell off to idolatry, and lost that knowledge of 

*>thc God, in which they had been instructed and educa- 

r (ver. 28) they did not like to retain God in their 

u kn e; i. e. to remember those instructions which had 

uld be objected, that St. Paul cub- means that their adva:v a 
to render them inexcusable in their gross idolatry and£;£&- 
bandt cause they did, oi have known better tbantodo 

so, it may be es the 18th verse, that be means to prove 

that re altogether inc oly in their gross sins, but also 

in all their u . . i.e. plainly, in all their want c fa 

ity to the m< of nature ; for the leas: 

ity, in heart cr lii first table of the taw, is a 

I i f non-conformit) to the se- 

a degree .s : And St. Paul is ex- 

» in it that the wrath of ( . heaven against all mh- 

1 he is full in ic tha I allien are v, holly 

all that the 
. merely to prove 
their 
to blame fori 
:id, cr mi vt known, that God di 

•erf to be . 



118 TRtf'fc RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

"been given them concerning the nature and perfections of 
u God:* But they abandoned themselves to idolatry ; (ver. 23, 
'* 25.) For which cause, (ver. 24, 26) — for which contempt cast 
" on God, God gave than up to all manner of wickedness ; so 
u that the present extreme ignorance, blindness, and wicked- 
"ness of the Gentile nations, they have, through their aversion 
u to God and love to sin, brought themselves into : so that it is 
u manifest they do not desire the knowledge of God, but evi- 
u dently hate all right notions of him, and so are, bevond dis- 
pute, without excuse ; which w r as the point to be proved." — 
Thus he proves that they are without excuse, because their 
present advantages for the knowledge of God are sufficient — 
which advantages, ever since the creation of the world, have 
been common to all ; and because they had once superadded 
advantages from parental instructions, which, instead of well 
improving, and of carefully handing down from generation to 
generation, they hated to remember, and, so, soon forgot. 

And these passages ought to be of more weight to decide 
the case, because they are not merely occasional strokes, but 
the apostle is evidently upon the very same point that I am : 
For, from the 18th verse of this jirst chapter, to the 19th verse of 
the third, he is industriously laboring to prove, that both Jews 
and Gentiles arc all under sin, and so the whole world guiky before 
God : And his arguments are not fetched from AdartHs first sin, 
but from comparing them with the law of God, whereby he 
discovers their weaknesses ; all the blame whereof, he entirely 
lays upon them : and because it might have been objected, that 

* And I may add — Concerning the seed of the wo7nan.... the promised Mes- 
siah, and the way of salvation through him ; for, no doubt, Noah and his sons 
had heard of this premise, and told it to their posterity ; and if they had 
handed it down safe, from age to age, the heathen world might, through- 
out all generations, have been in a salvable state ; for this promise con- 
tained the sum and substance of the gospel. Methuselah lived two hundred 
ami forty years in the days of Adam. Noah lived six hundred, and his sons 
about a hundred years in the days of Methuselah : And Isaac was/J^y y earl 
old before aii Noah's sons were dead : so that this promise might eabily 
have been handed along down by tradition, and doubtless would have been 
so, had it been precious in the eyes of the children of men : • And after- 
wards, farther light might have been obtained from Israel, God's peculiar' 
people, by the Gentile nations, had they really been desirous of it. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 119 

the heathen world had not sufficient means of knozvledge, and so 
were not zvholly to blame and inexcusable in their non-conformity 
to the lazv, he does here designedly obviate the objection, and 
prove and declare them to be zvithout any objection from that 
quarter. The apostle evidently takes it for granted, that they 
had sufficient natural powers to capacitate them for the knowl- 
edge of God, and he proves that their outward advantages were 
sufficient ; and so he lays the whole blame of their ignorance, 
blindness, and wickedness upon themselves ; and finally sums 
them up, with the rest of mankind, as having their mouths stop* 
peel, and standing gitilty before God.. ,. Chapter iii. 19. 

The truth of the case seems, in a few words, to lie here ; — that 
if Adam had never fell, the works of creation and providence 
had been the glass in which he himself,and all his posterity,would 
have beheld the glory of the Lord, from age to age ; whereby, 
being naturally of a right temper, tiiey would have been effec- 
tually influenced to love him, live to him, delight in him, and 
praise him forever ; or, in St. Paul's words, To glorify God as 
God, and be thankfid. And I suppose that all mankind, still hav* 
ing the same natural powers, and the same outward advantages, 
-are therefore entirely to blame for, and wholly inexcusable in, 
all their ignorance, blindness, and wickedness ; especially con* 
sidering they perfectly love to be what they are, and hate to be 
reclaimed, and stand ready to resist the light when offered, and 
shut their eyes against the truth, from whatever quarter it comes. 
The heavens, still as clearly as ever, do declare the glory of the 
Lord, and the firmament sheweth his handy work ; day unto day 
uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge... Psalm 
xix. 1. The natural perfections of God are clearly to be seen in 
all his works at the first glance, and his moral perfections would 
be equally evident to an intelligent creature of a right temper at 
the second thought : And then his glory would immediately 
shine brighter than the sun, and every heart be ravished with 
his infinite beauty : But such is our alienation from the Deity 
in this apostate world, and such the vitiated temper of our minds, 

that while angels see the divine glorv in all his works, (Rex* 

R 



120 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

iv. 11.) men., sottish, brutish men, though they have eyes to 
see, see not ; but are blind to the manifestations which God 
makes of himself, because they do not like to have God in their 
knowledge* And now, 

3. As to the heathens being accepted for honestly improving 
their powers and advantages, it is, in the first place, most certain, 
from St. Paul's account, that they were at the very greatest dis- 
tance from doing so* But, secondly, if they had done so, yea, 
if they had discovered so good a temper of mind as perfectly to 
have conformed to the divine law, yet it is the very scope of all 
the apostle's reasoning, in the three first chapters of his epistle 
to the Romans, to prove that by the deeds of the laxv no flesh, neith- 
er jew nor Gentile, can bejustifed : And since the law is holy, 
just, and good, it is not, indeed, reasonable that any thing short 
of sinless perfection, from first to last, should pass with the right- 
eous Governor of the world as a condition of acceptance. Fu- 
ture obedience, let it be ever so perfect, can do nothingtomakc 
amends for former neglects — as has been already proved in 
another place : But that which, of itself alone, is entirely sufficient 
to say in this matter, is, that it is expressly declared in Rom. i. 
18.... The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all un- 
godliness (or every breach of the first table), and unrighteousness 
(or every breach of the second table of the law), of men xvho 
hold the truth in unrighteousness : which words are evidently 
designed, by the apostle, to represent the character and state of 
the heathen world .; for he spends the rest of the chapter in en- 
larging upon this head, shewing how the heathen held the truth 
in unrighteousness, and were exposed to the wrath of God for 
their ungodliness and unrighteousness ; and he concludes them 
all under sin, and guilty, and lost forever, unless they obtain jus- 
tification by faith hi Christ.,. .(See Chapter liu 9, 19, 20, 30 ver- 
ses.) And thus we see how all mankind have not only suffi- 
cient natural powers, but also sufficient outward advantages to 
know God and perfectly conform, to his law, even the heathea 
themselves ; and that the very reason they do not, is their want 
of such a temper as they ought to have, and their voluntary, root- 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 121 

ed enmity to God, and love to sin.* And now that they are 
wholly to blame and entirely inexcusable, appears still in a 
clearer light. 

But before I leave this point, I must make this remark, viz. 
That if God looks upon the advantages of the heathen sufficient, 
no wonder that he so often speaks of the advantages of his own 
professing people as being much more than barely sufficient, 
even although they enjoy only the outward means of grace, with- 
out the inward influences of the holy spirit : for, if the natural 
advantages of the heathen are sufficient, surely the supernatu- 
ral advantages of those who enjoy a divine revelation, are much 
more than sufficient : And if the advantages of those who en- 
jov only a divine revelation are much more than sufficient, no 
wonder then that those who lived in the days of Moses, Isaiah, 
and Christ, are represented as very monsters of wickedness, for 



* Ob J. But it is impossible they should love God with all their hearts, if they 
have no hopes of finding favor in his sight ; for he that cometh to God must 
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek 
him.... Hebitx* s xi. 6. 

Ans. Coming to God, in Heb. xi. 6, evidently implies not only a confor- 
mity to the law, but also a compliance with the gospel; i. e. it implies not 
onlv a disposition to love God with all our hearts, but also a trusting in him 
for the divine favor and eternal life upon gospel-encouragements ; which 
gospel-encouragements must, therefore, be understoocl and believed, or it 
will, indeed, be impossible so to trust in him. But I did not say that the 
heathen were under sufficient outward advantages for an evangelical return- 
ing to God, which is what is intended in Heb. xi. 6. but only for a com- 
pliance with the law of nature, which is what is intended in Bom. i. 20,21. 

Ob j. But still is it not, in the nature of things, impossible they should love 
God, if the,> have no hopes of finding favor in his sight ? 

Ans. Let common sen^e decide the case : — A servant hates his master 
(a very good man) without cause, murders his only son r steals a thousand 
pounds of his money, runs away into a far country, spends several years in 
riotous living ; at length he is caught, brought home to his master, who i^ a. 
man in authority ; before him he has his trial, is condemned, and has no hope 
of favor. But how does this render it impossible, in the nature of things, 
that he should love his master ? Why car. not he love his master now, a>> 
as ever he could ? He has the same original grounds of love he used 
to nave : He used to love his master — his master is as worthy of his esteem 
as ever : He has no cause to esteem his master any the less, because lie 
himself has been such a villain, or becaus.e he is doomed to die for his 
crimes ; — a punishment justly due. To dislike his muster for these things 
would be perfectly unreasonable : Surely, were he but of a right temper, 
he could not but take all the blame to himself, and justif) his master, and 
( ^teem and love him, and be heartily sorry for all his villanies : He can be 
under no inability, but what must arise from a bad heart. — The applica- 
tion it easv. 



122 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, ANB 

remaining blind, senseless, impenitent, and unholy, since they 
enjoyed such great, and so many superadded advantages : No 
wonder, therefore, that Moses every where represents the chil- 
dren of Israel as such a stubborn, perverse, stiff-necked, rebel- 
lious people, (particularly see Dent, ix.) and makes as if their 
blindness, senselessness, and impenitency were most unaccount- 
able and inexcusable, since their eyes had seen, and their ears 
had heard such things, and their advantages had been so great, 
Deut. xxix. 2, 3, A:.*.. And Moses called unto all Israel, and sau 
unto them, Te have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes h 
the land of Egypt, unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, am 
unto all his land ; (and that he might set forth the greatness oi 
the things which they had seen, he adds), The great temptatiom 
which thine eyes have seen*. .the signs, and those great miracles, 
(all which have been enough to melt the heart of a stone, and" 
yet (as he goes on to say), the Lord (by all these things whicl 
have been so much more than enough), hath not given you an 
heart to perceive, and eyes to see y and ears to hear, unto this day : 
All these means have not to this day attained the end, and made 
you see, and feel, and know what a God the Lord is, and bring 
you to love him, and fear him, and walk in all his ways. Mo- 
ses evidently speaks of it as a very strange thing that they should 
be blind, senseless, impenitent, and unholy, after such means 
and advantages-^— as if they were most inexcusable, yea, under a 
very aggravated guilt ; whereby he plainly takes it for granted, 
that their advantages had been much morethan sufficient, had it 
not been for their want of a right temper, and their wicked ob- 
stinacy and perverseness ; And yet he mentions none but ouU 
zvard means and outward advantages, and does not give the least 
intimation that they had had any i/nxw/r/assistance from the ho- 
ly spirit : he does not bring any such thing into the account, but 
wholly aggravates their sin and their great inexcusableness, 
from the consideration of their outward helps: — Te have seen 
all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, ckc. 
And no wonder bethought them so very inexcusable, since God 
looks upon the heathen world without excuse, in that while the 



DISTINGUISHED FKOM ALL COUNTERTEITS. 123 

heavens declare the glory of the Lord, &c. they do not see with 
their eyes, and perceive with their hearts, and, from a sense of 
his glory, only thus discovered, love him, and live to him ; for, 
if their advantages are enough, surely the advantages of the Is- 
raelites were much, very much, more than enough. 

And, upon the same hypothesis, it is no wonder that God 
looked upon the case of the children of Israel as he did, in the 
time of Isaiah ; who, from the days of Moses even to that day, 
had, from age to age, enjoyed such outward advantages as they 
had, and had had such outward means used with them ; and, 
in that age, enjoyed so great an outward privilege as the daily 
prophesying and preaching of Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, and Mi- 
cah ; who, some, if not all, of them prophesied, it is very prob- 
able, forty or fifty years together at the same time, as we may 
learn from the first verse in their several books, which tell us 
when and how long they prophesied, compared with the account 
we have of those kings' reigns, in the books of the Kings, in 
whose reigns they prophesied ; — no wonder, I sav, God speaks 
as he does in Isaiah v. 1 — 7. ...My beloved hath a vineyard in a 
very fruitful hill : And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones 
thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in 
the midst of it, and also made a wine-press therein : Here is rep- 
resented the natural powers, and outward advantages of God's 
people. — And he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it 
brought forth wild grapes : And noxv, inhabitants of Jerusa- 
lem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my 
vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that 
I luive not done in it ? Wherefore, when 1 looked that it should 
bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes ? Here all the 
blame is entirely laid on themselves, and their conduct is con- 
sidered as being inexcusably, yea, unaccountably bad. — And now 
go to ; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard — I will take 
axvay the hedge thereof, &c. Where nothing can be plainer 
than that the children of Israel are r< presented as enjoying suf- 
ficient advantages for fruitfulness — yea, advantages much more 
than barely suiiicient ; and that their proving as they did, was 



124 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

unspeakably vile and God-provoking, and for which they de- 
served utter ruin ; and for which, indeed, God did afterwards, 
according to his declared design, bring utter ruin upon them 
But all those advantages were outward ; nor is the inward ah 
sistance of the holy spirit any where brought into the account, 
whenever the greatness of their advantages is set forth, on pur- 
pose to show how aggravated their wickedness was : but this is 
constantly the charge, as in II. Chron. xxxvi. 15, 16, 17. ...And 
the Lord God of their fathers sent imto them by his messengers^ 
rising up betimes and sending ; but they mocked the messengers 
of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until 
the wrath of God arose against his people, till there rvas no rem- 
edy : Therefore, he brought upon them the King of the Chaldees ; 
not because they did not improve the inward assistances of the 
holy spirit, but because they did not improve their outward ad- 
vantages.* ..did not hearken to God^s messengers : And in this 
strain their confessions ran, when God, by his grace, had brought 
them to see what they had done ;— ~ as in Dan. ix. 5,6, hc.^Wc 
have sinned, and committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and 
have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts, and from thy 
judgments : Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants, 
the prophets, which spake in thy name. The not hearkening 
to them is mentioned as the great aggravation ; but their not im- 
proving the inward assistance of the spirit is not brought into 
the account.... See Neh. ix. 30. 

It is evident that the children of Israel, considered as a na- 
tion, had not special grace, or the renewing, sanctifying influen- 
ces of the holy spirit, as one of their advantages, from Jer. xxxi. 
31, 32, o^.. ..Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will 
make a new covenant with the house of Israel, andxvith the house 
ofjfudah, not according to the covenant I made zuith their fathers, 
in the day I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the land 
of Egypt ; (which my [national] covenant they brake, although 
I rvas as an husband unto them, saith the Lord ;) But this shall 
be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel : After 
those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laxv in their inward 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 125 

parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and 
tkeij shall be my people ; — where the renewing, sanctifying in- 
fluences of the holy spirit are mentioned as a peculiar privilege 
the Jezvish people were not entitled unto as a nation, by that 
national covenant which God entered into with them, as such, 
at Mount Sinai, (Exod, xix.< — Deiit. v.) and which afterwards, 
at the end of forty years, was renewed at the borders of Canaan 
....Deut.xxix 5 Nor indeed were there any inward influences 
of the holy spirit, at all, promised, in that national covenant, as 
a common privilege, to be by them in common enjoyed : And 
if they were not entitled to this privilege, as a nation, by their 
national covenant, then there is no evidence that they, as a na- 
tion, did enjoy it ; and, therefore, when God speaks as if he 
had done all for that nation that could be done, he plainly has 
respect only to outward means, which were all that they, as a 
nation, enjoyed : And, as to them, he evidently had good ground 
to to say ; since he had done such great things for them, and 
sent such prophets among them, and been continually taking 
all pains, from age to age, to make them a holy people : even 
as we ar.e ready to say concerning the people of a particular 
parish, where there is a learned, godly, plain, searching, power- 
ful, enlightening, faithful minister, such as Mr. Shepard was 
in his day, What more could be done for such a people, that is not 
done ? And, therefore, when Stephen charged the Jews, that 
they always resisted the Holy Ghost, as their fathers had donc y 
(in Acts vii. 51,) he means, that they had always resisted the 
Holy Ghost, as speaking in and by their prophets, as now they 
did the same spirit that spake in and by him — as is plain from 
Verse 52, and as is also ev ident from Ne!u is. 30. And besides, 
there is not the least intimation, that those Jews, to whom Ste- 
phen spoke, were under any of the inward infiucncetrof the 
holy spirit, but they seem rather to act like creatures wholly 
left of Goch And this hint may help us to understand that 
phrase in Neh. bc# 20. compared with Num. xi. 17 : So that, 
from the whole, it is evident, that the children of Israel, as » 
nation, were, in Isaiah's time, looked upon as enjoying atfoan* 



12o TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

tages much more than sufficient for their being a holy and fruit 
fill people, had they been of a right temper and not so wickedh 
obstinate and perverse in their bad disposition ; and yet thei: 
advantages were only outward, and the inward influences ofthi 
holy spirit are not taken into the account. 

And well might their advantages be thus esteemed, upon th< 
forementioned hypothesis : Yea, if all mankind are able, in res- 
pect to their natural capacities, to yield perfect obedience, an< 
if the advantages of the very heathen were sufficient, had it n< 
been for the want of a right temper in them, and for their vei 
bad disposition, it is no wonder that God speaks here concern- 
ing his peculiar people, whose outward advantages were exceed- 
ingly great, as if he had had very raised expectations of theii 
being a holy people : — Wherefore, when I looked it should brim 
forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes P q. d. " I have don< 
44 all, as to outward means, that could be done, to make you 
u holy people — enough, and more than enough ; and I looke< 
" and expected that you should have been so : and whence is it 
" that you are not I How unaccountable is it ? And how great 
u is your wickedness ! And how great your guilt !" For it is 
God's way, in the holy scriptures, to speak to men after the man- 
ner of men, who are wont to have their expectations of fruitful- 
ness raised, when they sow or plant in a fertile soil, well manu- 
red and cultivated.... (See Mat. xxi. 33 — 41.) Just so a master 
is wont to speak to his servant, who is strong, and able for bu- 
siness — " I looked that you should have done such a piece of 
u work, wherefore is it not done ? You had time enough, and 
u strength enough ;" and that although he knew, in all reason, 
beforehand, that his servant would not do it, because of his lazy, 
Unfaithful temper — the design of such speeches being to repre- 
sent the great unreasonableness and inexcusableness of such a 
conduct. 

And finally, upon the same hypothesis, it is no wonder that 
Jesus Christ represents the people of Chorazin, and Bethsaida, 
and Capernaum, as enjoying advantages sufficient to have 
brought even Tyre, and Sidon, and Sodom to repentance, which, 



BIST1NGUISHED FKOM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 127 

in scripture account, are some of the most wicked cities in the- 
World ; and so, consequently, more than barely sufficient to have 
brought them to repentance, who were, by profession, the people 
of God ; for they had enjoyed the ministry of Christ himself, 
and seen very many of his mighty works.... ilfof. xi. 20 — 24. If 
the advantages of the heathen world are sufficient, well might 
Christ, speaking after the manner of men, seem to be so confi- 
dent that Tyre, and Sidon, and Sodom would have repented, 
if thev had seen his mighty works ; and well might he speak as 
if the people of Chorazin, Ike. had enjoyed advantages more 
than barely sufficient, and lay all die blame of their impenitency 
upon them — yea, and look upon them as under an aggravated 
guilt, and give them so heavy a doom : And yet nothing can 
be plainer than that the advantages which they enjoyed were on- 
ly outxvard, for no other are brought into the account, as aggra- 
vations of their guilt : — Woe unto thee, for if the mighty works 
which -were clone in you, &c. He does not, in the least, intimate 
as if drey had any inward help from the holy spirit, but only says 
he has done mighty worts among them ; yea, in the 25th verse, 
he plainly declares diat they were left destitute of special grace* 

And thus, while, with St. Paul, we look upon the advantages 
t\ en of the heathen world as sufficient to lead them to the true 
knowledge of God, and a perfect conformity to his law, but for 
their want of a good temper, and their voluntary aversion to God 
and love to sin, we easily see whence it is that the external ad- 
vantages of those who enjoy the benefit of a divine revelation, 
ther with other outward means of grace, are represented as 
being much more than barely sufficient — and consequently their 

It, in remaining impenitent and unholy, as being doubly ag- 
gravated. 

And before I leave this point, I must make one remark more, 
aamely, that if the advantages of the heathen world were suffi- 
cient, but for their want of a good temper, their voluntary aver- 
sion to God and love to sin, to lead them to the true knowledge 
of God, and a perfect conformity to his law, as has been proved, 

then God was not under any natural obligations to grant to any 

S 



128 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

of mankind any supernatural advantages, but still might justly 
have inquired sinless perfection of all, and threatened eternal 
damnation for the least defect ; — I say, God was under no nat- 
ural obligations, i. e. any obligations arising from his nature and 
perfections : for he might, consistent with his holiness, justice, 
and goodness, have left all mankind to themselves, without 
any supernatural advantages, since their natural advantages 
were sufficient, and they were obstinate in their ignorance, blind- 
ness, and wickedness. Most certainly God was not bound to 
have sent his Son. ...his spirit.. ..his word. ...his. messengers, and 
entreat and beseech those who perfectly hated him, and hated 
to hear from him, and were disposed to crucify his Son — resist 
his spirit — pervert his word, and kill his messengers, to turn 
and love him, and serve him ; but might, even consistent with 
infinite goodness itself, have let them take their course, and go 
on in the way they were set in, and have damned them all at last. 
All that the great and glorious Governor of the world requires 
of mankind, in the law of nature, is, that they love him with all 
their hearts and souls, and live as brethren together in his world; 
which is infinitely reasonable in itself, and which they have suf- 
ficient natural powers to do. And he has stretched abroad the 
heavens as a curtain over their heads, which declare the glory 
of the Lord ; and in the earth, and in all his works, his perfec- 
tions are clearly to be seen — so that all are under sufficient ad- 
vantages for the knowledge of him ; but mankind hate God, 
and say unto the Almighty, Depart from us, for we do not desire 
the knowledge of thy ways : and hence they still remain igno- 
rant of God, averse to him, and in love with sin : And now, I 
say, it is as evident as the sun at noon day, that God might fair- 
lv have damned such creatures, without using any mere means 
with them. Hislawbeingthus upon a perfect level with their nat- 
ural powers and natural advantages, he was not obliged, as he was 
the righteous and good Governor of the world, to grant them 
any supernatural assistance, either outward, by an external rev- 
elation, or inward, by the internal influences of his holy spirit : 
and therefore it is, that the great Ruler of the world has always 



DISTINGUISHED TROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 129 

acted sovereignly and arbitrarily in these matters, bestowing 
these supernatural favors upon whom he pleases, as being obliged 
to none. Thus he has done as to the external revelation ; 

Psalm cxlvii. 19, 20 He sheweth his word unto Jacob. ...his 

statutes and his judgments unto Israel: He hath not dealt so with 
any nation, and as for his judgments, they have not known them. 
And thus he has done as to the internal influences of his spirit : 
Mat. xi. 25, 26..../ thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and 
earth, because thou hast hid these things from the ivise and pru- 
dent, and hast revealed them unto babes ; even so, Father, for so 
it seemed good in thy sight : And thus God, even to this day, 
as to both outward and inward helps, hath mercy on whom he 
will have mercy, and compassion on whom he will have compas- 
sion : He effectually sends the gospel to one nation, and not to 
another ; and where the gospel is preached, he, by his spirit, 
awakens, convinces, humbles, converts whom he pleases, and 
leaves the rest. 

And thus the objection, from the heathen's not having suffi- 
cient outward advantages, has been answered ; and, from the 
answer, I have taken occasion to make these (I hope) not unprof- 
itable remarks ; and may now return and repeat my former as- 
sertion, with still higher degrees of assurance,^, that mankind 
are altogether to blame for, and entirely inexcusable in, their 
non-conformity to the holy law of God, and therefore justly de- 
serve damnation — -and that even the heathen, as well as others. 
Thus have I endeavored to shew what is the exact measure 
of love and obedience that God requires of the children of men, 
and that ail mankind have sufficient natural powers and outward 
advantages, and that all their blindness, ignorance, and wicked- 
ness, are voluntary, chosen, and loved : And I have been the 
larger upon these things, in order to clear up the justice of God 
and his law, and the grace of God in his gospel — both which 
have been sadly misrepresented by those who have not aright 
understood or well attended to these tilings. They have 
that it is not just in God to require sinless perfection of man- 
kind, or damn any for the want otic : They have said that the 



130 TRUX RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

law is abated and brought down to a level with (I hardly know 
what, unless I call it) the vitiated, depraved temper of an apos- 
tate world* who both hate God and his holy law, and want 
act of toleration and indulgence to be passed in favor of their 
corruptions, that, at heart, they may remain dead in sin, and 
yet, by a round of external duties, be secured from damnation 
at last : And so they have, like the Pharisees of old, {.Mat. v.) 
destroyed the law by their abatements ; and now the law, only 
by which is the knowledge of sin, being thus laid aside, they are 
ignorant of their sinful, guilty, helpless, undone state, and so 
are insensible of their need of the sovereign grace of God, through 
Jesus Christ, to save them— and fancy they are well disposed 
enough to turn to God of their own accord : And having imbi- 
bed such notions of religion, they easily see that the better sort 
of heathen have, for substance, the same religion with themselves, 
and therefore have equal charity for them ;— not being really 
sensible of their need of gospel-grace for themselves, they have 
full charity for the heathen, who never so much as heard of it : 
But what I have said is sufficient, I think, to clear the Justice of 
God in his law, and the grace of God in the gospel, and sweep 
away this refuge of lies, by which so many gladly quiet their con- 
sciences, and wofully deceive their own souls. However, of 
these tilings we shall still have something more afterwards. 

Thus, we have gone through what was proposed.... have con- 
sidered what was implied in love to God, and from what motives 
we are to love him, and what measure of love is required : and 
all that has been said cannot possibly be summed up in fewer 
or plainer words than these, Thou shalt love the Lord iky God 
with all thy heart, and with cdl thy sold.. ..with all thy mind, and 
with cdl thy strength : This is the first and great commandment ; 
in conformity whereunto the first and great part of religion does 
consist : And the second, which is like unto it, being the foun- 
dation of the other half of (this part of) religion, (now under 
consideration), is, fhou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself ; 
Which is what we are, in the next place, to proceed to a consid- 
eration of. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUXTILRFilTS. 131 

SECTION IV. 
OF LOVE TO OUR NEIGHBOR. 

II. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: In which words 
we have (1.) the duty required — Thou shalt love. (2.) The 
original, natural ground and reason of it intimated — Thy neigh- 
bor ; which name, given to our fellow-men, maylead us to con- 
sider them as being what they arem themselves, and as sustain- 
some kind of character and relation with regard to us* — . 
The rule and standard by which our love to our neighbor 
is to be regulated — As thyself. Here, therefore, we may con- 
is implied in love to our neighor....from what motives 
are io love him, and by what standard our love is to be reg- 
ulated, as to its nature and measure. 

First, Let us consider zv/iat is implied m that love to our 
neighbor ) which, by the law of God, is required of us : And, ia 
general, it is pre-supposed, or implied, that we have a right tem- 
per of mind.. ..an upright, impartial, candid, benevolent temper, 
even to perfection, without the least tincture of any thing to the 
contrary; for, without this, we shall not — we cannot view our 
neighbors in a true light, nor think of them.... nor judge of them 
....nor feci towards them, exactly as we ought. A wrong tem- 
per.... a selfish, partial, uncandid, censorious, carping, bitter, stin- 
gy, proud temper, will unavoidably give a wrong turn to all our 
thoughts of, and feeling towards, our neighbors ; — as is man;- 
. from the nature of the thing, and from universal experience. 
Solomon ol -, that as a man thinketh, so is he ; and it is as 

true, that a? a ma;: . . ih ; for out of the heart — the 

temper and disposition of the man, proceed his thoughts of, and 
feelings towards, both persons and things, according to our Sa- 
vior.... Mat. xii. oO, 34, 3.5. An upright, therefore impartial, 
candid, benevolent temper, to perfection, without the least tinc- 
ture of an} .o the contrary, is prc-supposed and implied, 
in the love ireq lired, as b i the nature pf things, absolutely 
necessarv thereto. We must \, right temper, and, under 
the in:: thereof, be perfectly in a disposition to view our 



132 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

neighbors in a right light, and think and judge of them, and be 
affected towards them as we ought ; i. e. To love them as our* 
selves. Particularly, 

1. There is a certain esteem and value for our fellow-men, 
which, upon sundry accounts, is their due, that is implied in 
this love. There are valuable things in mankind : some have 
one thing, and some another — some have gifts, and some have 
grace — some have five talents, and some two, and some one — 
some are worthy of a greater esteem, and some less, consider- 
ed merely as they are in themselves : and then some are, by 
God, set in a higher station, and some in a lower, sustaining 
various characters, and standing in various relations ; as ma- 
gistrates and subjects, ministers and people, parents and chil- 
dren, masters and servants, &c. And there is a certain esteem 
and respect due to every one in his station. Now, with a dis- 
interested impartiality, and with a perfect candor, and a hearty 
good- will, ought we to view the various excellencies of our 
neighbors, and consider their various stations, characters, and 
relations ; and, in our hearts, we ought to give every one his due 
honor, and his proper place, being perfectly content, for our 
parts, to be and to act in our own sphere, where God has pla- 
ced us ; and, by our fellow-mortals, to be considered as being 
just what we are : and indeed, this, for substance, is the duty 
of every one in the whole system of intelligent creatures. As 
for God most high, the throne is his proper place, and all his 
intelligent creatures have their proper places, both with respect 
to God, and with respect to one another — which places they 
are bound to take, and to acquiesce in with all their hearts. We 
have an instance of this temper, to a good degree, in David : He 
was sensible that Saul was the Lord's anointed, and that it be- 
came him to render honor to whom honor is due, and fear to 
whom fear, and his heart was tender : hence David? s heart smote 
him, because he had cut offSauVs skirt....!. Sam. xxiv. 5. This 
temper will naturally dispose us to feel and conduct right towards 
our superiors, inferiors, and equals ; and so lay a solid foundation 
fortheperformanceofall relative duties. The contrary to all this 






DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 133 

is a proud and conceited temper, attended with a disposition to 
despise superiors, scorn equals, and trample upon inferiors ; 
a temper in which men over-value themselves, their friends and 
party,and under- value and despise allothers. Such do not consid- 
er persons and things as being what they are, and think, and judge, 
and be affected, and act accordingly : Nor do they consider, or 
regard the different stations in which men are set by God, or 
the characters they sustain by divine appointment. They are 
not governed by the reason of things, and the sense of what is 
right and fit ; but by their own corruptions. This was the case 
with Korah and his company, when they rose up against Mo- 
ses and Aaron, and said, Te take too much upon you, seeing all 
the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is 
among fArm..*.Nuni, xvi. 3. Pride makes superiors scornful 
in their temper, and tyrannical in their government ; and pride 
makes inferiors envious in their temper, and ungovernable in 
their lives ; and it makes equals jealous, unfriendly, conten- 
tious : In a word, it lays a foundation for the neglect of all rel- 
ative duties, and for a general discord and confusion among 
mankind. 

2. We ought not only to consider, esteem, and respect our 
fellow-men, as being what they are, and, w r ith a perfect im- 
partiality, give them their due, in our very hearts, according 
to what they are, and to the stations they stand in, being perfect- 
ly content, for our own parts, with the place which God has al- 
lotted to us in the system, and to be and act in our own proper 
sphere, and willing to be considered by others as being just what 
we are ; but it is farther implied in the love required, that we 
be perfectly benevolent towards them ; i. e. that we consider 
their happiness, as to body and soul — as to time and eternity, 
as being what it really is, and are (according to the meas- 
ure of our natural capacities) thoroughly sensible of its 
value and worth, and are disposed to be affected, and act accord- 
ingly, i. e. to be tender of it... .value and promote it, as being 
what it is — to long, and la';or, and pray for it — and to rejoice 
in their prosperity, and be grieved for their adversity ; and all 






134 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

from a cordial love, and genuine good-will ; — the contrary ta 
which is a selfish spirit, whereby we are inclined only to value, 
and seek,and rejoice in ourown welfare,and not care forour neigh- 
bor's, any further than we are influenced by self-love and self- 
interest — which selfish spirit also lays a foundation for envy at 
our neighbor's prosperity, and hard-hear tedness in the time of 
his adversity, and inclines us to hurt his interest, to promote 
our own. To love our neighbor as ourselves, makes it natural 
to do as we would be done by ; but a selfish spirit makes it un- 
natural. Malevolence, malice, and spite, make it even natural 
to delight in our neighbor's misery : And hence it is, that re- 
venge is so sweet, and backbiting and detraction so agreeable in 
this fallen, sinful world. 

3. I may add, that, so far as our fellow-men are proper ob- 
jects of delight and complacency, so far ought we to take delight 
and complacency in them ; And hence it is that the godly man 
feels such a peculiar love to the children of God, for that image 
of God which he sees in them. The saints are, in his account, 
the excellent of the earth, in whom is all his delight.... Y^. xvi. 3. 
The godly man is of Christ's temper, who said, Whosoever sludl 
do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my broth- 
er, and sister-, and mother. ...Mat. xii. 50. But wicked men are 
of another taste ; and the things. ...the tempers and dispositions 
in their neighbors, which to them appear excellent, and upon the 
account of which they delight in them, are odious in God's sight. 
Luke xvi. 15.. ..For that xvhich is highly esteemed amongst men y 
is abomination in the sight of God ; for it is the temper of wick- 
ed men not only to do wickedly themselves, but also to have plea- 
sure in others that do so too... ,J?o??i. i. 32. Those who are 
vain, or unclean, or intemperate, suit each other, and take de- 
light in one another's company ; while, at the same time, they 
distaste and disrelish those things among mankind which are 
truly most worthy of our delight. In a word, we ought so to es- 
teem others as to be heartily disposed to treat them with all that 
respect which is their due j and to have such a tender regard 
for their welfare as to be perfectly disposed, in every instance, 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 135 

and, in every respect, to do as we would be done bv ; and to take 
notice of all their good properties with that entire friendliness 
and perfect candor, as may dispose us to take all that delight 
and complacency in them which is fit : In order unto all which > 
it is requisite that we be perfectly free from any tincture of pride, 
selfishness, &c. and have our hearts full of humility, benevo* 
lence, candor, and goodness. And now, 

Secondly. The motives by which we are to be influenced^ 
thus to love our neighbors as ourselves, are such as these :— ■» 
1 . It is right and Jit in itself: As the apostle, exhorting children 
to obey their parents in the Lord, uses this motive, For this is 
right. ...Eph. vi. 1. The reason of God's requiring of us 
to love our neighbors as ourselves, is because it is, in its 
own nature, right that we should ; and this ought, therefore, to 
move and influence us to do so. There is the same general 
reason why I should love my neighbor, as why I should love 
myself. Lovely things are as worthy of being loved in him as 
in me ; and, therefore, by me, ought, in all reason, to be loved 
as much. There is the same reason why my neighbor should 
be esteemed as being what he is, and according to the station 
he stands in, as that I should. To esteem myself above my 
neighbor, merely because I am myself without any other reason, 
is unfit and wrong, at first sight : So to admire my children.,.. 
my friends.... my party, as if there were none such, merely be- 
cause they are mine, is unreasonable and absurd. My very 
worst enemy ought, by me, to be considered and esteemed as 
being what he is, with an impartiality perfectly disinterested, as 
well as my very best friend. Good properties are not at all the 
better, merely for belonging to me, or to my friends ; or the 
worse, for belonging to my neighbor, or my enemy : But it is 
right I should view things as they are, and be affected towards 
them accordingly ; indeed, I ought to be so far from a disposi- 
tion to esteem myself above others, and to be prejudiced in my 
own favor, (since I am capable of a much more full and inti- 
mate acquaintance with my own sins and follies, than with the 
sins and follies of others), that I ought rather to be habitually 



> 



136 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

disposed to prefer others in honor above myself.. ..Rom* xii. 10. 
— Phil. ii. 3. And so, as to my neighbor's welfare and ha] 
piness, there is the same general reason why it should be dear 
to me, as that my own should : His welfare is worth as much, 
in itself, as mine ; it is as worthy, therefore, to be valued, es- 
teemed, sought after, and rejoiced in, as mine : It is true, my 
welfare is more immediately put under my care by God Al- 
mighty, and so it is fit it should, by me, be more especially ta- 
ken care of ; — not that it is of greater worth for being mine, for 
it is not ; but only because it is more immediately put under my 
care by God Almighty : The same may be said of the welfare 
of my family, &x. ; but still my neighbor's welfare is, in itself, 
as precious and dear as mine, and he is my neighbor.... he is 
flesh and blood as well as I, and wants to be happy as well as I, 
and is my brother by Adam ; we are all but one great family — 
the offspring of the same common parents ; we should, there- 
fore, all be affected as brethren towards one another.... love as 
brethren, and seek each other's welfare most tenderly and affec- 
tionately, as being sensible how dear and precious the welfare of 
each other is ; — this is perfectly right : And so we should bear 
one another's burthens*.-.. mourn -with them that mourn, and re- 
joice with them that rejoice, as being tender-hearted, cordial 
friends to every body ; and this from a real sight and sense that 
such a temper and conduct is perfectly right and fit, in the na- 
ture of things : And whereas there may be several things in my 
neighbor truly agreeable, it is evidently right I should delight 
in those good properties according to their real worth ; — it is a 
duty I owe to my neighbor, the possessor, and to God, the giver 
of those good gifts. 

2. But that I should thus love my neighbor as myself, is not 
only, in its own nature, right, but is zlso enjoined upon me by the 
law and authority of God, the supreme Governor of the world : 
So that, from love to God, and from a sense of his right to me, 
and authority over me, I ought, out of obedience to him, to love 
my neighbor as myself, and always, and in all respects, to do 
as I would be done by : and not to do so, is not only to injure 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 137 

my neighbor, but to rebel against God, my King and Govern- 
or — and so becomes an infinite evil ; Hence, it is charged upon 
David, that, by his conduct respecting Uriah, he had despised 
the Lord, and despised 'the commandment of the Lord ; and this is 
mentioned as the greats/ of his sin*... II. Sam. xii. 9, 10: For 
he had not merely murdered one of his fellow-worms, but ris- 
en up in rebellion against the most high God ; and practically 
said, " I care not for God, nor his authority.... I love my lust, 
and will gratify it for all him :" And therefore, when David 
was brought to true repentance, the native language of his soul, 
to God, was — Against thee, thee only have I sinned.. ..Psal. li. 
4. It is rebellion, therefore... .it is despising the Lord.. ..it is an 
infinite evi^not to love our neighbors as ourselves. 

3. We have not only the authority, but also the example of 
God, ta influence us to this great duty of love and benevolence. — 
God is love : He has an infinite propensity to do good, and that 
in cases where there is no motive from without to excite him ; 
yea, where there is every thing to the contrary : He loves to 
make his sun to rise, and his rain to fall, upon the evil and un- 
thankful : He loves to fill the hearts of all with food and glad- 
ness, and to strew innumerable blessings round a guilty, God- 
hating world ; yea, out of his great goodness, he has given his 
only Son to die for sinners, and offers grace and glory, and ail 
good things, through him — being ready to pardon, and receive 
to favor, any poor, guilty wretch, that will repent, and return to 
him, through Jesus Christ : And now for us, after all this, not 
to love our fellow-men— yea, not to love our very worst ene- 
mies, is very vile. Since God has so loved us, xve ought surely to 

: one anot her.... I. John iv. 11 : Since he has treated us, his 
enemies, so kindly, we ought now, as dear children, to imitate 
him, and love our enemies, and bless them that curse us, and do 
good to them that hate us, and pray for them which despitefullij 
use us, and persecute z<.y....Mat. v. 44,45, The infinite beauty 
in the goodness of the divine nature lays us under infinite ob- 
ligations to imitate it, in the temper of our minds, and in our 
daily conduct : And it is ingratitude.. ..it is a shame... .it is 



IS3 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

abominable wickedness, not to love our worst enemies, and for- 
give the greatest injuries. Since the great Governor of the world 
has treated us worms and rebels as he has, one would think thatt, 
after all this, we should never be able to find a heart to hate or 
injure any mortal : Surely, we are under very strong obligations 
to accept that divine exhortation in Eph. iv. 31, 32.. ..Let allbiu 
terness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking be 
put away from among you, with all malice : and be ye kind one 
to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God, 
for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you : And (Chap, 5. verse 1.) 
Be ye followers of God as dear children. Besides, there are ma- 
ny additional obligations to love and benevolence, and to peculiar 
respect and kindness between husband and wife, parents and 
children, friend and friend, &c. arising from their mutual rela- 
tions, and dependancies, and from special kindnesses already 
received or hoped for. And now, 

Thirdly, As to the standard by which our love is to be reg- 
ulated, viz* Thou shaltlove thy neighbor as thyself In order 
rightly to understand it, we must — 1. Place ourselves, sensibly, 
as in the presence of the infinitely great and glorious God, before 
whom all the nations of the earth are nothing and less than noth- 
ing, and vanity, and, in the light of God's greatness and glory, 
we must take a view of our own littleness and deformity, and 
so learn how we ought to be affected towards ourselves, compa- 
red with God ; and as we ought to love ourselves, so ought 
we to love our neighbor : And now, in general, we ought to be 
disposed towards God, as being what he is, and towards our- 
selves and neighbors, as being what we and they are. Partic- 
ularly, God's honor in the world ought to appear infinitely more 
valuable and precious than our own, and therefore our own 
ought to seem as a thing of no worth, compared with his, and, 
as such, to be freely parted with when God's honor calls for it ; 
and as free should we be to see the reputation of our dearest 
friends given up for God's sake. The same may be said of 
our worldly interest and of all our worldly comforts, when com- 
pared with God's interest and the interest of his Son's kingdom 






DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 139 

in the world, and of the worldly interests and comforts of our 
dearest friends : All, both ours and theirs, is comparatively 
nothing, and ought to appear so to us ; yea, our lives and their 
lives are just the same things — comparatively of no worth, and 
to be parted with in a moment, without the least reluctance, when 
God's honor or interest calls therefor. 2. In order to a right un- 
derstanding of this standard, we must also observe, that our love 
to ourselves is habitual, unfeigned, fervent, active, and permanent: 
so also must be our love to our neighbors. 3. A regular seif-iovc 
respects all our interests, but especially our spiritual and eternal 
interest : so ought our love to our neighbors. 4. A regular self- 
love naturally prompts us to be concerned for our welfare ten- 
derly... .to seek it diligently and prudently... .to rejoice in it hear- 
tily, and to be grieved for our calamities sincerely : so ought 
our love to our neighbors to prompt us to feel and conduct with 
regard to their welfare* 5. Self-love makes us take an un- 
feigned pleasure in promoting our own welfare : We do not diink 
it hard to do so much for ourselves ; — the pleasure we take in 

promoting our welfare rewards our pains The same genuine 

kind of love ought we to have to our neighbor; and so to re- 
member the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more 
blessed to give than to receive. 6. We ought never to speak of 
our neighbor's sins, or weaknesses, or any way expose him to 
shame and contempt in the world, in any case whatsoever, ex- 
cept such wherein it would be our duty to be willing ourselves 
to be so exposed by him, were we in his circumstances, and he 
in ours : And then we are to do it with that sensible tenderness 
for him that we could reasonably desire from him, towards us, 
in a like case. 

Thus, then, we have briefly considered the second great com- 
mand of the law, and see what that meaneth — Thou shah love 
thy neighbor as thyself To love God with all our heart, lavs 
a foundation, and prepares the way for us to love our neighbor! 
as ourselves. It removes and takes away those things which 
are contrary to this love ; such as pride, selfishness, worldliness, 
a narrow, stingy, envious, revengeful temper. True love to 



140 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

God mortifies and kills these things at the root. And, secom 
ly — True love to God assimilates us to the divine nature, an< 
makes us like God in the temper of our minds. But God is 
love : and the more we are like God, the more are our heart 
therefore, framed to love and benevolence. He that dwelleti 
in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. Love to God sweei 
ens the soul, and enlarges our hearts to love our fellow-men, 
And thirdly — The more we love God, the more sacred is his 
authority with us, and the more glorious, amiable, and anima- 
ting does his example appear, and the greater sense have we 
of our obligations to gratitude to him ; all which tend jointly 
to influence us to all love and goodness towards our neighbors : 
So that, he that knows God, and loves him, will be full of love 
to mankind ; and, therefore, hethatloveth not, knoweth not God 
....I. John iv. 8. On the other hand, where there is no true 
love to God, there is no true love to mankind ; but the heart is 
under the government of pride, selfishness, and other corrup- 
tions, which are contrary to love : So that a genuine love to man- 
kind is peculiar to the godly. ...I. John iv. 7. 8. 

And now, from what has been said, we may evidently see, 
these following sorts of love to our neighbor, are, neither of 
them, the love required, however nearly they may sometimes 
seem to resemble it. 

1. What is commonly called natural compassion, is not the 
love here required j for the most wicked, profane man may be 
of a very compassionate temper : so may the proud, the self- 
ish, the envious, the malicious, and spiteful man — as experience 
plainly shows. And besides, natural compassion does not 
take its rise from any sense of the rectitude and fitness of things, 
or any regard to the divine authority, but merely from the an- 
imal constitution : And men seem to be properly passive in it. 
It is much the same thing in the human, as in the brutal nature : 
It is, therefore, a different thing from the love here required. 

2. The same may be said of what is called good-nature : It 
arises merely from animal constitution, and is net the love here 
required ; for such a man is not influenced in his love by the 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 14-1 

reason and nature of things, or the authority of the great Gov- 
ernor of the world, or from a consideration of the infinite good- 
ness of the divine nature, anymore than the beasts are, who are 
some of them much better tempered than others : So that this 
sort of love has nothing of the nature of religion in it : And it 
is evident that many wicked and ungodly men have much of 
this natural good-temper, who yet have no regard to Gcd ordu- 
Yea, a secret grudge against a neighbor, reigning in the 
heart, may be, in the good-natured wan, consistent with his good- 
nature, but it is not consistent with the love here required ; and 
therefore they are evidently two things* 

3. That love which is commonly called natural -affection, is 
not the love here required. It is true that man is worse than 
the beasts wIig is without natural affection, for they evidently 
are not ; but every man is not a saint, because he has natural af- 
fection : And it is true we owe a peculiar love, according to 
God's law, to our relatives ; but natural affection is not this love : 
for there are many ungodly wretches, who care neither for-God 
nor his law, who have as much natural affection as any in the 
world ; yea, it is a common thing for ungodiv parents to make 
verv idols of their children ; — for them, they go, and run, and 
work, and toil, by night and day, to the utter neglect of God and 
their own souls : and surely this cannot be the very love which 
God requires : Adid besides, as natural affection naturally 
prompts parents to love their children more than God, and be 
more concerned for their welfare than for his glory, so it is com* 
monlv a bar in the way of their loving others as they ought :— * 
They have nothing to give to the poor and needy — to the wid- 
ow and the fatherless ; they must lay up all for their children : 
vea, many times they rake and scrape, cheat and defraud, and, 
like mere earth-worms, bury themselves in the world ; and ail 
this for the sake of their children : And yet all this love to their 
children does not prompt them to take care of their souls. They 
never teach their children to pray, nor instruct them to seek af- 
ter God : They love their bodies, but care little for their souls : 
Their love to the one is beyond all bounds, but, to the othcr> 



142 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

is little or nothing: It is an irrational fondness, and not the love 
required. Indeed, if parents loved their children as they ought 
to do, their love would effectually influence them to take care of 
their souls, and do all their duty to them — which natural affec- 
tion evidently does not ; and therefore it is not that love with 
which God, in his law, requires parents to love their children : 
Nor, indeed, does there seem to be any more of the nature of 
true virtue or real religion in the natural affection of men, than 
there is in the natural affection of beasts — both resulting merely 
from animal nature and a natural self-love, without any regard 
to the reason and nature of things, 

4. Nor is that the love here required, which arises merely 
from a party-spirit ; because such a one is of their partv, and 
on their side, and loves those whom they love, and will plead, 
stand up, and contend for them, and maintain their cause : For 
such a love is pregnant with hatred and ill-will to every body 
else ; and nothing will humor and gratify it more than to see 
the opposite party hated, reviled, and blackened : And besides, 
such a love is nothing but self-love in another shape. Te have 
heard that it hath been said, Thou shah love thy neighbor, and 

hate thine enemy : But I say unto you, love your enemies 

Mat. v. 43, 44. 

5. Nor is that the love here required, which arises merely 
from others'* love to me : As if a rich man is kind and bountiful 
to poor people all around him, and appears to love and pity 
them, they, though almost ever so wicked, will feel a sort of 
love to him : But if this rich man happens to be a civil magis- 
trate, and is called to sit as a judge in their case, and passes 
judgment against them for their crimes, now their love dies, 
and enmity, and hatred, and revenge begin to ferment in their 
hearts. In this case, it is not the man they love, but rather his 
kindnesses : And their seeming love, is nothing but a certain 
operation of self-love. And indeed, however full of love per- 
sons may seem to be to their neighbors, if all arises merely from 
self-love, or is for self-ends, nothing is genuine : and that wheth- 
er things worldly, or things religious, occasion their love. A 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 143 

poor man will love and honor those who are rich, if he hopes 
to get any thing by it. A rich man may be kind to the poor, 
with an eye to his credit. An awakened sinner will love an 
awakening preacher, in hopes he shall be converted by his min- 
istry. A minister may seem to show a world of love to the 
souls of sinners, and all with an eye to applause. Hypocrites 
will love a godly minister, so long as he thinks well of them, 
and happens not to detect their hypocrisy in his public preach- 
ing. Even the Galatiaris were very full of love to Paul for a 
while, so long as they thought he loved them, and had been the 
instrument of their conversion ; yet, afterwards, they lost their 
love, and turned his enemies, for his telling them the truth- 
while others, who loved him truly for what he was, were more 
and more knit unto him for those very doctrines for which the 
Galatians hated him. If ye love them ivhich love you, what re- 
^oardliaveye? Do not the publicans the same?.... Mat. v. 46. 
There is no virtue nor religion in such a kind of love, and it is 
evidently not the thing required by the divine law. And in* 
deed it is a thing as difficult, and as contrary to corrupt nature, 
for us genuinely to love our neighbors as ourselves, as it is to 
love God widi all our hearts ; and there is as little true love be* 
tween man and man, as there is between men and God. It is 
for our interest to love God, and it is for our interest to love 
our neighbors, and therefore men make as if they did so, when, 
really, there is nothing genuine and true : And, at the day of 
judgment, when a wicked world comes to God's bar, and their 
past conduct is all brought to light, nothing will be more man- 
ifest than that there never was a spark of true love to God or 
man in their hearts, but that, from first to last, they were acted 
and governed either by their animal constitution, or else merely 
by self-love P 

6. I may add, nor is that the love required, when men love 
others merely because they are as bad, and so just like themselves : 
—-Nature and self-love will prompt the worst of men to do so. 
The vain and profligate love such as are as bad as themselves : 
And, from the same principle, erroneous persons have a pecu- 

U 



144 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

liar regard for one another : And the enthusiast and blazing hy- 
pocrite may, from the same principle, seem to be full of love 
to their own sort, though full of malice against all others : And 
they may think that it is the image of God which they love ia 
their brethren, when, indeed, it is only the image of themselves. 
Persons of a bad taste may greatly delight in those things in oth- 
ers, which are very odious in the sight of God : But surely this 
cannot be the love required ; and yet, by this very thing, many 
a hypocrite thinks himself a true saint. 

Thus we see what it is to love God with all our hearts, and 
our neighbors as ourselves, and see these two distinguished from 
their counterfeits : And so we have gone through the two great 
commands of the law, in a conformity to which the very essence 
of religion does much consist. 

And now it is added by our Savior, Upon these two hang all 
the law and the prophets. The law and the prophets, i. e. the 
inspired writings of the Old Testament consider these two max- 
ims, that we must love God with all our hearts, and our neighbors 
as ourselves, as first and foundation-principles : and all the va- 
rious duties which they urge, respecting God and our fellow- 
men, are but so many inferences and deductions from them. 

God must be loved with all the heart : and therefore we must 
make him our God and none else, according to the first com- 
mand — worship him according to his appointed institutions, 
agreeably to the second command — with becoming reverence 
and devotion, according to the third — and that in all such 
set times as he hath appointed in his word, according to the 
fourth. 

■ Our neighbor must be loved as mir selves : and therefore we 
must render honor to whom honor is due, according to the 
fifth command ; and be tender of our neighbor's life, chastity, 
estate, and good name, according to the sixth, seventh, eighth, 
and ninth commands ; and rejoice in his welfare and prosperity, 
according to the tenth : and, in all things, treat him as we could 
reasonably desire hira to treat us, according to that golden rule 
of Testis Christ, in Matthew, vii. 12. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 145 

And as all the duties we owe to God and man, are thus, in 
the theory y but so many deductions, necessarily flowing from 
these two maxims, or first principles, so,, when the law of God 
is written in the heart of a sinner by divine grace, and put in his 
inward parts, there will, from these two- principles, naturally 
flow all duties to God and his neighbor, in his daily practice ; 
i. e. from a disposition to love God supremely, live to him ulti- 
mately, and delight in him superlatively, he will naturally be 
inclined and enabled sincerely to do all his will — to make him 
his God, according to the first command- — to worship him ac- 
cording to his own appointments, with becoming reverence, and 
at all suitable times, according to the rest. It will be his nature 
to do all this — his meat and his drink, and so his greatest delight. 
And so, also, from a genuine disposition to love his neighbor 
as himself, he will be naturally inclined and enabled, in all things, 
and at all times, sincerely to do as he would be clone by. It 
will be his nature to do so — his meat and his drink, and so his 
greatest delight.... Heb. viii. 10 — JoIm~s.s\ 14— JL John ii. 3, 4 
— Psalm xix. 10. 

So that, as it is in theory, so also it is in, practice ;. these two 
are like the seed that virtually contains the whole plant, or like 
the root from which the whole tree grows, with all its branches 
and fruit. And in proportion as a man loves God and hi3 
neighbor with a genuine love, in the same proportion will his 
inclination and ability, thence arising, be,todo all these duties v 
and consequently, when his love ta God and his neighbor ar» 
rives to perfection, he will be perfectly inclined and enabled to 
be perfect in holiness and righteousness, and will uctiuJly, in ail 
things, perfectly conform to both tables of the law. And it is 
equally evident, that, until a man has a genuine love to God and 
his neighbor in his heart, he will have neither inclination nor 
ability (in a moral and spiritual sense) to perform one act of true 
obedience ; for as all true obedience, acco/ding to the law and 
prophets, is to flow from these two principles, so, consequent 
ly, according to the law and prophets, that is not true obedience, 
whidiafof $ not : And, therefore, when all a man's religion is 



146 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

merely from self-love, and for self-ends, he cannot be said, 
strictly speaking, to do any duty to God or his neighbor, or 
ebey one command ; for he only serves himself, and that from a 
supreme love to himself, which the law and the prophets do not 
require, but strictly forbid, in that they enjoin the direct contrary. 

So that now, in a few words, we may here see wherein true 
religion does consist, as it stands distinguished from all the foist 
religion in the world. The godly man, from seeing God to 
be just such a one as he is, and from a real sense of his infinite 
glory and amiableness in being such, is thereby influenced to 
love him supremely, live to him ultimately, and delight in him 
superlatively : from which inward frame of heart, he freely runs 
the way of God's commands, and is in his element when doing 
God's wilL He eats, he drinks, he works, he prays, and does 
all things, with a single eye to God, who has placed him in 
this his world, allotted to him his peculiar station, and pointed 
out before him all the business of life.... always looking to him 
for all things, and always giving thanks unto his name, for all 
his unspeakable goodness to a wretch so infinitely unworthy* 
And, with a spirit of disinterested impartiality, and genuine 
benevolence, he views his fellow-men.... gives them their places 
♦...takes his own, and loves them as himself : Their welfare is 
dear to him ; he is grieved at their miseries, and rejoices at 
their mercies, and delights to do all the good he can, to every 
one, in the place and station which God has set him in. And 
he finds that this new and divine temper is inwrought in 
his very nature ; so that, instead of a forced religion, or a 
religion merely by fits, his very heart is habitually bent and in- 
clined to such views and apprehensions — »to such an inward 
temper, and to such an outward conduct. 

This, this is the religion of the Bible — -the religion which the 
law and the prophets, and which Christ and his apostles too, all 
join to teach — the religion which Christ came into the world 
to recover men unto, and to which the spirit of God does actu- 
ally recover every believer, in a greater or lesser degree. Thus, 
those who are dead in sin, are quickened. *. ,lLph. 11. 1 — Have 



DISTINGUISHED TROM ALLCOUXTERFEITS. 147 

the law written in their hearts....Heb. viii. 10 — Are made new 
creatures, all old things being done away, and all things became 
new.... II. Cor. v. 17 — And are effectually taught to deny all 
ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, 
and godly in this present world.. ..Tit. ii. 12 — And so serve God 
without fear, in holiness and righteousness, all the days of their 
/*Ws....Luke i. 74, 75. 

And this is specifically different from every sort of false re- 
ligion in the world : For all kinds of false religion, however dif- 
ferent in other things, yet all agree in this, to result merely from 
a principle of self-love, whereby fallen men, being ignorant of 
God, are inclined to love themselves supremely, and do all 
things for themselves ultimately. All the idolatrous religion of 
the heathen world, in which some took much pains, had its rise 
from this principle. They had some notion of a future stajte. — : 
of a heaven and a hell, as well as of temporal rewards a%d pun- 
ishments, and so were moved by hope and fear, from a princi- 
ple of self-love, to do something to pacify the anger oi toe gods, 
and recommend themselves to the favor of their deities : And 
all the superstitions of the seemingly devout papist.... his pater- 
nosters, his ave-marias, his penances and pilgrimages, and end- 
less toils, still arise from the same principle : So does all the 
religion of formalists, and legal hypocrites, in the reformed na- 
tions : It is a slavish fear of hell, and mercenary hope of heav- 
en, which, from a principle of self-love, sets all a going ; yea, 
the evangelical hypocrite, who mightily talks of supernatural, 
divine light — of the spirit's operations — of conversion, and a 
new nature, still, after all, has no higher principle in him than 
self-love. His conscience has been greatly enlightened, and 
his heart terrified, and his corruptions stunned : and he has, by 
the delusions of Satan, obtained a strong confidence of the love 
of God, and pardon of his sins ; so that, instead of being influ- 
enced chiefly by the fear of hell, as the legal hypocrite is, he i:> 
ravished with heaven ; but still, all is from self-love, and for 
self-ends £ and, properly and scripturally speaking, he neither 
knows God, nor cares at all for him. And this is the very case 



148 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

with every graceless man living, of whatever denomination 
whether a Heathen, or Jew, or Christian — whether Papist, oi 
Protestant — whether Church- man, Presbyterian, Congreg< 
lionalist, or Separatist — whether a Pelagian, Arminian, Calvii 
ist, Antinomian, Baptist, or Quaker. And this is the ca* 
with every graceless man living, whatever his attainments tiu 
otherwise be;— though he hath ail knowledge to understand all 
mysteries, and can speak with the tongues of men and angels, 
and has faith to remove mountains, and zeat enough to give all 
his goods to feed the poor, and his body to be burned ; yet he 
has no charity — he is perfectly destitute of this genuin^love to 
God and his neighbor, and has no higher principle in his heart, 
from which all his religion proceeds, but , a supreme love to 
himself. For, ever since our first parents aspired to be as gods, 
it has been the nature of all mankind to love themselves supreme* 
ly, and to be blind to the infinite beauty of the divine nature ; 
and it remains so to be with all, until renewed by divine grace : 
So that self-love is the highest principle from which unregene- 
rate men do ever act, or can act. 

Here, therefore, we have true religion.... a religion specific 
cally different from all other sorts of religion in the world, stand- 
ing in a clear view : yea, and we may be absolutely certain 
that this is the very thing which has been described : For this 
conformity to the moral law is, throughout all the Bible, by 
Moses and the prophets.. ..by Christ and his apostles, repre* 
sented to be the very thing in which the essence of religion ori- 
ginally consists. " Blessed be the name of the Lord forever, 
" who has given us so clear a revelation of his will, and so sure 
a and certain a guide as his word." Come here, all you poor, 
exercised, broken-hearted saints, that live- in this dark, benight- 
ed world, where many run to and fro, and where there are a 
thousand diiferent opinions, and every one confident that he is 
right ; — come here to the law and to the testimony ; — come 
here to Christ himself, and learn what the truth is, and be set- 
tled — be confirmed, and be established forever ; and Remember, 
and practise upon those words of Jesus Christ,, in John vii. 17 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 149 

+„.Ifany man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, 
zvhether it be of God. O, read the Bible — live lives of prayer 
and communion with God ; yea, die to yourselves, the world 
and sin, and return home to God through Jesus Christ — and 
love him, and live to him, and delight in him more and more — 
and be more and more disinterested and impartial.. .sincere and 
fervent, in your love to your neighbors — do all the good, to ev- 
er}' one, that you can ; in a word, be the servants of God, and 
.grow up into his image, and your certainty of divine truths will 
proportionably strengthen and increase : For the more vour 
understandings are free from that darkness and prejudice that 
sin has introduced, the clearer will you view divine truths, and 
the greater sense will you have of their inherent divine glory ; 
and so your belief of their divinity will be the more unshaken. 
Having thus gone through with what was proposed, a general 
improvement of the whole is all that now remains : And, indeed, 
much use may be made of these great truths, which have been 
thus explained and proved, for our instruction in some of the 
most controverted points in religion, and to clear up the believ- 
er's gracious state, and also to promote our humiliation, and 
thankfulness, and universal obedience. 

SECTION V. 
RIGHT APPREHENSIONS OF THE LAW USLFUL TO CLEAR UP 
SOME OF THE MOST CONTROVERTED POINTS IN RELIGION. 

Use I. Of instruction. We have seen what the law of God 
requires, and the infinite obligations we are under perfectly to 
conform to it. ...we have seen wherein a genuine conformity to 
the law consists, and how r a genuine conformity to it differs from 
all counterfeits ; and what has been said may help us to under- 
stand the following particulars : 

1. Where in coiisisted the mar al image of God in which Adam 
was created. That Adam was created in the iimige of God, is 

expressly affirmed in Gen. i. 27 So God creafed man in his 

image, in the image of God created he him : And from tl. 
'words we have just the same reason to b< 



150 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

created in the moral, as that he was in the natural image of God ; 
because they tell us in plain terms, without any distinction or 
exception, (nor is there any that can be gathered from any oth- 
er text), that he was created in the image of God ; but the moral 
as well as the natural perfections of God are equally contained 
in his image: As to the political image of God, Adam, strictly 
speaking, was not created in that ; because, as the scriptures in- 
form us, it was after his creation that he was made Lordoi this 
lower world.... Gen. i. 28. And it is, I think, with less propri- 
ety that this is, by divines, called the image of God — I do not 
know that it is any where so called in scripture ; and God was 
the same he is now, before he sustained the character of supreme 
Lord and Governor of the world. His natural and moral per- 
fections comprised his whole image before the world was crea- 
ted ; and in this his image was his creature, man, created : not 
in part of his image, for there is no such intimation in all the Bi- 
ble ; but in his image, comprising his moral, as well, and as 
much, as his natural perfections. 

Now, the moral image of God does radically consist in a tem- 
per of mind ox frame of heart perfectly answerable to the moral 
law — the moral law being, as it were, a transcript of the moral 
perfections of God : So that, from what has been said of the na- 
ture of the moral perfections of God, and of the nature of the 
moral law, we may learn wherein consisted that moral image 
of God in which Adam was created. He had a perfect moral 
rectitude of heart.... a perfectly right temper of mind, and so was 
perfectly disposed to love God with all his heart, and his neigh- 
bors (if he had had any) as himself — was perfectly disposed to 
give God his place, and take his own.... and consider God as be- 
ing what he was, and be affected and act accordingly.... and t6 
consider his fellow-men (if he had had any) as being what they 
were, and feei and act accordingly : And in this image of God 
was he created, as the scriptures teach us ; i. e. he was brought 
into existence with such a temper connatural to him. 

Now here is a new-made creature in a new world, viewing 
God, and wondering at his infinite glory, looking all round, as- 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 151 

tcnished at the divine perfections shining forth in all his works : 
He views the spacious heavens,. ..they declare to him the glory 
of the Lord : He seeshis wisdom and his power.. .he wonders and 
adores : He looks round upon all his works.. ..they clearly dis- 
cover to him the invisible things of God, even his eternal power 
and godhead ; and he stands amazed. God makes him Lord of 
this lower world, appoints to him his daily employment, and 
puts him into a state of trial, setting life and death before him ; 
and he 'sees the infinite wisdom, holiness, justice and goodness 
of God in all.. ..he falls down and worships.... he exults in God, 
and, with all his heart, gives up himself to God with sweetest 
delight ; — all is genuine, natural, and free, resulting from the 
native temper of his heart. 

Here he beheld God in his infinite glory, viewed his works, 
contemplated his perfections, admired and adored him w^ith a 
sweetness and pleasure of soul most refined ! Here he saw God 
in all the trees, plants, and herbs in the garden, his happy seat, 
while, out of love to God and duty, he attended his daily busU 
Fjess..«he ate and drank, and blessed his great benefactor ! He saw- 
that it was infinitely reasonable that he should love God with 
all his heart, and obey him in every thing, if eternal life had not 
at all been promised ; both because God infinitely deserved it at 
his hand, and also in doing thereof there was the greatest satis* 
faction and delight : And he saw that if he, in any thing, should 
disobey his sovereign Lord and rightful Governor, it would be 
right, infinitely right, that he should be miserable forever, even 
if God had never so threatened ; because to disobey such a God 
appeared to him an infinite evil. He looked upon the promise 
of eternal life as a mere free bounty : He looked upon die ihreat- 
cning of death as impartial justice : And while he considered 
eternal life under the notion of a reward promised to perfect 
obedience from God, his Governor, he saw his infinite love to 
righteousness therein, as well as his infinite bounty : And while 
he considered death under the notion of a punishment threat- 
ened against sin, he saw God's infinite hatred of iniquity there- 
in, as well as his impartial justice : And when he saw how God 

w 



152 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

loved righteousness and hated iniquity, and beheld his infinite 
goodness on the one hand, and impartial justice on the other, he 
was ravished.... Now he saw plainly what God was, and his in- 
finite glory in being such, and loved him with all his heart : It 
was natural to account such a God infinitely amiable, and it was 
natural to love him with all his heart ; — all was genuine and 
free, resulting from the native temper of his mind. 

These being his views and apprehensions, and this his nature, 
hence, although he was under a covenant of works, yet the hopes 
of happiness and the fears of misery were not the original and 
first spring of his love to God : it was not originally from self- 
love, and for self-ends, but from a sense of the beauty of the di- 
vine nature ; and so it was not forced and hypocritical, but free 
and genuine : it did not feel like a burden, but it was esteemed 
a privilege ; and, instead of being disposed to think it much to 
love God with all his heart, and obey him in every thing, he 
rather thought it infinitely right and Jit, as being God's due, and 
that he deserved no thanks from God, but rather was under in- 
finite obligations to give thanks to God forever, for such an in- 
finite privilege : And thus we see wherein that moral image of 
God consisted in which Adam was created. 

2. From all which, it is a plain matter of fact that xve are born 
into the 7uo rid entirely destitute of the moral image ofGcd: So 
certain as that the moral image of God radically consists in such 
a temper, and makes it natural to have such-like views and dis- 
positions — so certain we are in fact born without it. Look in- 
to children, and there is nothing to be seen of these things : 
And we are all sure that such a temper and such-like views and 
dispositions are not natural to us ; yea, most men are sure there 
is still no such thing in them, and very many believe there is no 
such thing in the world. We are, in fact, born like the zvild ass's 
colt, as senseless of God, and as void and destitute of grace : 
We have nature, but no grace — a taste for natural good, but no 
relish for moral beauty — an appetite for happiness, but no appe- 
tite for holiness — a heart easily affected and governed by selfish 
considerations, but blind to the moral rectitude and fitness of 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 153 

things : And so we have a heart to love ourselves, but no heart 
to love God ; and may be moved to act by selfish views, but 
cannot be influenced by the infinite moral beauty of the divine 
nature. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. ...John iii. 6 — 
and will only mind and relish things which suit its na- 
ture. ...Rom. viii. 5 — but is blind to spiritual things.... I Cor. ii. 
14. True, indeed, in children there are many natural excellen- 
cies. ...many things pleasing and agreeable : In a good mood, 
they appear loving and kind, innocent and harmless, humble and 
meek — and so does a lamb. There is nothing but nature in 
these appearances ; It is owing to their animal constitution, and 
to their being pleased and humored : It is all from no higher prin- 
ciple than self-love. — Cross them, and they will presently feel and 
act bad enough ; They have, in their temper and most early con* 
duct, no regard to God or duty, or to the reason and nature of 
things, but are moved and affected merely as things please or 
displease them, making their happiness their last end : And, 
indeed, if the image of God, holiness, or grace, or whatever we 
call it, be really such a thing as has been said, then nothing of such 
a nature can possibly be more plain and evident than this univer- 
sally is, that mankind are, in fact, born into the world destitute, 
entirely destitute thereof.... Job xL 12 : And hence, we must 
be born again....] chin iii. 3, 6. 

Ob j. But zvhere, then, was the propriety of Christ's saying ; in 
Mat. xviii. 3.... Except ye be converted, and become as little 
children, ye shall not enter into the kindom of heaven ? Is it not 
here supposed that little children are patterns of humility and 



ess t 



2 



goodn 

Ans. And where was the propriety of those words in Isaiah 
liii. 7 — where the prophet, speaking of Christ's meekness and 
patience under his sufferings, says, As a sheep before her shear- 
ers is dumb, so he oj>enednot his mouth ? Is it not here supposed 
that sheep are patterns of meekness and patience ? The truth is, 
that these allusions do not prove that either sheep or little chil- 
dren naturally have any real humility or meekness, of a gracious 
nature, but only an appearance of it : And just of the same na- 



154 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED^ AND 

ture are those phrases in Mat. x. 16.. ..As xvise as serpcnts....( 
harmless as doves. But as these scriptures do not prove th; 
sheep, and serpents, and doves have grace, so neither does thx 
other text prove that little children naturally have it. 

3. By comparing ourselves with the holy law of God, as il 
has been already explained, we may also learn that we are bon 
into the world, not only destitute of a conformity to the law, but 
that we are natively diametrically opposed to it In the temper ofow 
hearts. The law requires us to love God supremely, but the n; 
tive bent of our hearts is to love ourselves supremely : The lai 
requires us to live to God ultimately, but the native bent of oui 
hearts is to live to ourselves ultimately : The law requires us tc 
delight in God superlatively, but the native bent of our hearts ii 
to delight in that which is not God, wholly : And, finally, the 1st 
requires us to love our neighbors as ourselves, but the nativ 
bent of our hearts is to be inordinately selfish. 

These are the earliest dispositions that are discovered in our 
nature : And although I do not think that they are concreated 
by God together with the essence of our souls, yet they seem to 
be the very first propensities of the new-made soul : So that 
they are, in a sense, connatural ; our whole hearts are perfectly 
and entirely bent this way, from their very first motion. These 
propensities, perhaps, in some sense, may be said to be con- 
tracted, in opposition to their being strictly and philosophically 
natural, because they are not created by God with the essence 
of the soul, but result from its native choice, or rather, more 
strictly, are themselves its native choice : But most certainly 
these propensities are not contracted, in the sense that many vi- 
cious habits are — namely, by long use and custom. In opposi- 
tion to such vicious habits, they may be called connatural. Lit- 
tle children do very early bad things, and contract bad disposi- 
tions ; but these propensities are evidently antecedent to every 
bad thing infused or instilled by evil examples, or gotten by 
practice, or occasioned by temptations : And hence, it is become 
customary to call them natural, and to say that it is our very na- 
ture to be so inclined : And to say that these propensities are 



DISTINGUISHED FRO^I ALL COUNTERFEITS. 135 

.:ral, would, to common people, be the most apt way of ex- 
pressing the thing ; but it ought to be remembered ihat thev are 
not natural in the same sense as the faculties of our souls are : 
for thev are not the workmanship of God, but are our native 
choice, and the voluntary, free, spontaneous bent of our heart : 

d to keep up this distinction, I frequently choose to use the 
word native, instead of natural. 

And now, that these dispositions are, as it were, thus born 
with us, is as evident from experience, as any thing of this kind 

l be ; for these are the earliest dispositions that man's nature 

discovers, and are evidently discovered before little children 

le of Learning them from others : Yea, it is plainly the 

uive bent of their hearts to love themselves above all.... 

to make their ea*e, comfort, and happiness their last end and 

their all, and to seek for all from the creature, or, in other words, 

from that which U not God. This is plain to everv one's obser- 

ion ; nor did I ever hear any one, as I remember, venture to 
deny it. 

And as children grow up, and their natural powers enlarge; 
so these propensities grow up, and strengthen, and become more 
active, and discover themselves plainer ; and from this root, 
this evil fountain, many bad things soon proceed. Observe 
children through all the days of childhood, and this nature may 
be easily seen in them.. ..they discover it in all their conduct in 
ten thousand instances ; and there it does and will remain. — 
We may break them of many bad tricks which they learn, and 
had habits which they contract, but we cannot change this prin- 
ciple of their nature. They are disposed to love themselves su- 
premely, seek their own ends ultimately, and delight in that which 
is not God wholly ; nor can we turn this bent of their hearts. 
V v V can, after a sort, instil good principles into them — learn them 
toreadandpray ; and, after a sort, to honor their parents, and 
love their neighbors : we can make them civil, and sober, and 
humble, and modest, and religious, in a sort, but still their sW 
nature remains in its full power : It is restrained, but not altered 
at all ; yea, and after all, these their native dispositions have 



156 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

the entire government of them ; their whole hearts are as much 
bent this way as ever: and these propensities govern them in 
their inward temper, and in all their conduct. They do all from 
self-love, and for self-ends, and are seeking happiness, notin God, 
but in something else. These things are plain to every impar- 
tial observer ; nor can they be denied by any. Thus we are all 
shapen in iniquity, and in sin are we conceived : And we are 
transgressors from the womb, and go astray as soon as zve are born. 

And if we leave children, and look into ourselves, we may 
easily observe that we are naturally of the same temper — incli- 
ned to love ourselves supremely, and do all from self-love, and 
for self-ends, and seek for happiness, not in God, but in some- 
thing else. We can remember when and how we contracted 
many other vicious habits, and feel some inward power to get 
rid of them ; but these propensities we have always had, and 
they are natural, and our whole hearts are so in them, that it is 
not in us so much as sincerely to desire to be otherwise. It is 
true, we may, in a sort, desire and try to alter this our nature, 
from considerations of duty, of heaven and hell ; but it is all 
hypocrisy, for we still act merely from self-love, and for self- 
ends, as much as ever. We have naturally no disposition to 
desire to love God, only for self-ends ; — all men are conscious 
to themselves that this is true. 

We are naturally entirely under the government of these dis- 
positions, in all things, and under all circumstances : — In all 
things — in all our civil and religious concerns. It is merely 
from self-love, and for self-ends, that natural men follow their 
worldly business, and endeavor to live peaceably with their 
neighbors ; and, in these things, they are seeking blessedness : 
And it is merely from self-love, and for self-ends, they do any 
thing in religion ; — either they mean to be seen of men, or are 
moved from a slavish fear of hell and mercenary hope of heav- 
en, or from some other selfish consideration. — And, under all 
circumstances, we are naturally under the government of 
these dispositions : In prosperity* ...then, from an inclination to 
love ourselves supremely, seek our own happiness ultimately, 



^DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 157 

and delight in that which is not God wholly, it is our nature to 
rejoice and be glad ; and, from the same inclination, we are dis- 
posed to mourn, and murmur, and be discontented under cufver- 
siti;. At the Red-Sea it was natural for the Israelites to sing 
praise — at the bitter waters it was as natural to murmur. When 
we are pleased, then we are glad — when we are crossed, then 
we are sad ; but, naturally, we do not care how it goes with 
God's interest in the world.. ..what becomes of his great name, 
or whether his honor sinks or swims : no, there is but here and 
there a Moses that cares any thing about this ; but, if they can 
have their own wills, and secure their own interests, they are 
content. While the spirit of God lets sinners alone, and they 
live secure and unconcerned, then, from the aforesaid propensi- 
ties, they are after the world — one after one thing, and another 
after another ; and, although they may keep up a form of reli- 
gion, for fashion sake, yet, really, they care nothing about God 
and things eternal. When they come to be awakened to a con- 
cern for their souls, though they reform their lives, and take ve- 
ry different courses from what they used to do, yet still all is 
from the same principle, and for the same end. They have new 
lives, but the same nature : They do not really care for God 
or his glory, any more than they used to do, nor take any con- 
tent in him ; but are only after pardon of sin, and peace of con- 
science, which, according to their present sensations and appre- 
hensions, they think would make them happy. Sinners do not 
really seek for blessedness in God himself, but in something 
they hope to receive from him : And hence, when awakened 
sinners come to get false comfort — think they are pardoned, and 
so have peace — or think that Christ loves them, and that they 
shall go to heaven, and so are filled with joy... .as all their joy 
results from self-love merely, so all they rejoice in is what they 
think thev have received, and what they hope yet to receive ; 
but they do not really care for God himself, (whose glory they 
never saw), any more than they used to do — nor rejoice in him: 
and hence (ordinarily) having their consciences quieted, they 
soon go back to the world again for real comfort and blessed- 



158 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

ness : Or if, after false comfort, they turn enthusiasts, and get to 
blazing, and wax hotter and hotter, and seem to be full of noth- 
ing but love to God, and zeal for his glory, it is visions and 
dreams, revelations and impulses, a firm persuasion they are 
the peculiar favorites of heaven, and the applause of their party, 
which they live upon and take comfort in, and by which they 
are animated ; and all from self-love, and for self-ends : but, 
in deed and in truth, they neither know God, nor regard him 
nor his glory, nor live upon him, nor delight in him, any more 
than they used to do : and thus, in all things, and under all cir- 
cumstances, unregenerate men are governed by a disposition 
to love themselves supremely, live to themselves ultimately, 
and delight in that whidi is not God wholly : And whosoever 
is well acquainted with mankind may easily see that this is, in 
fact, the very case, and will naturally be led to make the same 
observation with the apostle Paul, in Phil. ii. 21.... All seek their 
oxvn, and not the things which are Jesus Chrisfs. 

And now this disposition, which is thus evidently natural to 
all mankind, is directly contrary to God's holy law. ...is exceeding 
sinful, and is the root of all wickedness. First, it is diametrical- 
ly opposite to God's holy law : for this requires us to love God 
supremely, and seek his glory ultimately — in direct contrariety 
whereunto,we are naturally inclined to love ourselves supreme- 
ly, and live to ourselves ultimately. Again, the law requires 
us to delight in God superlatively, and choose and live upon 
him as the only portion of our souls — in direct contrariety where- 
unto, we are naturally inclined to place our whole hearts up- 
on other things, and live upon them, and take content in them. 
Finally, the law requires us to love our neighbor as ourselves, 
and do as we would be done by. — in direct contrariety where- 
unto, we are naturally inclined to be inordinately selfish, and so 
not to do as we would be done by : And thus we are all natu- 
rally gone out of the xvay, and, in the temper of our own minds, 
become corrupt, filthy, and unprof table, and there is none right" 
eous ; no, not one... .Psalm xiv. — Rom. iii. 10 — 19. We have 
iost the image of God.. ..we have lost a right temper of mind.... 




DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 159 

we have lost a governing sense of the moral fitness of things.... 
have no eyes to see moral beauty, or hearts to taste and relish 
the moral excellency of spiritual and divine things.. ..I Cor. ii. 14. 
Hence, in God we can see no form nor comeliness, nor in him, 
at all, delight ; yea, it is natural for it to seem to us as if there 
was no God.. ..Psalm xiv. 1. And now, as though in very deed 
there were no God for us to be in subjection unto, we set up 
for ourselves, to make our own interest our last end, and to seek 
blessedness, not in God, but in something else ; and are natu- 
rally inclined, without any regard to God's law, to make our 
own wills our only rule ; and now, having cast off the govern- 
ment of God, and forsaken the fountain of living waters, we 
go every one his way, one to his farm, another to his merchant 
dize, all serving divers lusts and pleasures : So that it might 
justly be wondered at, how any among mankind should ever 
have it enter into their hearts, to imagine that we are not fallen 
creatures, universally depraved, when it is, so evidently, a plain 
matter of fact. I think it can be owing to nothing but men's 
ignorance of the law, in its spiritual nature, purity, strictness, 
and extent, and their not comparing themselves therewith : and 
indeed St. Paul tells us that this is the case — Rom. vii. 8...0 
For without the law sin was dead : For did men but rightly ap- 
prehend that God is such an one as the law speaks him to be, 
and that he requires us to be what really he does, they could 
not possibly but see their native contrariety to God and his holy 
law. The Israelites of old felt their contrariety to their proph- 
ets, and they hated them, and put them to death ; and the Phar- 
isees felt their contrariety to Christ and his apostles, and hated 
them, and put them to death ; for they perceived what their 
prophets, and what Christ and his apostles, were driving at : but 
yet, all the while, they imagined they loved God, and loved his 
law, because they neither knew God, nor understood his law : 
and even so it is at this day ; If an Arminian, or Pelagian, (for, 
after all their pretences, they are, by nature, just like the rest 
of mankind), did but verily believe God just such an one as 
the godly man, in fact, sees him to be, he would feel as great a 



169 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

contrariety to him, and enmity against him, as any Cahanist ever 
supposed there was in natural men. They frame a false image 
of God in their own fancies, to suit the vitiated taste of their 
corrupt hearts, and then cry, We are not enemies to God ; no, but 
it is natural for us to love him: when, ail the while, their native 
aversion to Gcd will not so much as suffer them to believe that 
there k any such Being as really he is. But, to proceed, 

The aforesaid disposition, and bent of heart, which is thus 
directly contrary to the law, is exceedingly sinful: For, while we 
love ourselves supremely, and live to ourselves ultimately, we 
do really, in our hearts, and by our practice, prefer ourselves 
above God, as if we were more excellent and worthy : in which 
we cast infinite contempt oh the Lord of glory, in as much as 
all the nations are, in his sight, but as a drop of the bucket, and 
small dust of the balance, and we, compared with him, are less 
than nothing, and vanity. He is of infinite majesty, greatness, 
glory, and excellency, and all heaven adore him in the most hum- 
ble prostrations ; and yet we, mean worms of the dust.. . yea, vile 
worms of the dust, that deserve every moment to be spurned to 
hell, even xve esteem and love ourselves more than we do him, 
and are more concerned for our interest than for his honor ; 
yea, care not at all for him, or his honor, nor would ever so 
much as pretend to it, if not excited thereto from the expectation 
of self-advantage : and that, even aldiough we receive life and 
breath, and all things from him, and his right to us is original, 
underived, perfect, and entire. Surely this is infinite wicked- 
ness ! and besides, in being and doing so, we affront his sacred 
authority, whereby, as Governor of the world, he commands 
us to love him with all our hearts. And further, while we are 
inclined to take our whole delight in that which is not God.... 
to forsake him, the fountain of living waters, the ocean of all 
good, and seek comfort and content elsewhere ; we hereby pre- 
fer the world above God — prefer our wives and children... .our 
houses, and lands, and pleasures, above God — or, at best, we 
prefer (an imaginary) heaven above God : to do either of which, 
casts infinite contempt upon the Lord of glory... .the delight of 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. lM 

angels.. ..the joy of the heavenly world. The Psalmist said, 
Whom have I in heaven but thee ? And there is nothing on earth 
I desire besides thee.,.. Psalm lxxiii. 25 ; and well might he say 
so : but to be inclined, when we are secure in sin, and not ter- 
rified with hell, to love and desire any thing upon earth more 
than God — and, when under terrors and fearful expectations of 
wrath, to desire pardon, peace, and (an imaginary) heaven, and 
any thing to make us happy, but God himself, is surely infinite- 
ly vile. We do hereby prefer that which is not God, above 
God himself, as if it was really of more worth ; and so cast 
infinite contempt upon the ocean of blessedness, and fountain 
of all good. And besides, in this, as well as the former particular, 
we go directly contrary to the express command of the great 
Governor of the whole world. Finally, to be disposed to an 
inordinate (and so to a groundless) self-love, and to be swallow- 
ed up in selfish views and designs, instead of a tender love, and 
cordial benevolence to all our fellow-men, loving them as our- 
selves, is evidently contrary to all the reason and nature of 
things, and to the express command of God, which is infinitely 
binding ; and so this also is infinitely sinful : And thus, these, 
our native propensities, are directly contrary to the holy law of 
God, and exceedingly sinful. 

But here it may be enquired — u If a disposition to love our- 
u selves supremely, live to ourselves ultimately, and to delight in 
"thatwhich is not God wholly, be so exceedingly sinful, whence 
u is it that men's consciences do not any more accuse and condemn 
them therefor ?" To which the answer is plain and easy ; far 
this is evidently owing to their intolerably mean thoughts of God. 
Mai. i. 6, 7, 8,., .A son honor eth his father, and a servant his 
master : If tlwn, I be a father, where is mine honor ? And if I 
be a master, where is my fear ? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, 
priests, that despise my name : and ye say, Wherein have we 
despised thy name ? Te offer polluted bread upon mine altar ; 
(and so ye despise me :) and (yet) ye say, Wherein have ive pol- 
luted thee ? (I answer) In thai (in doing so) ye (practical*!; ) 
say, The table of the Lord is contemptible : (and so you treat niu 



u 



162 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, ANET 

with contempt.) And yet their consciences did not smite 
them, and therefore the Lord adds — And if ye offer the blind 
for sacrifice, is it not evil P and if ye offer the lame and sick, is 
it not evil P (or am I so mean and contemptible, that to do so 
ought not to be looked upon as an affront ? I appeal to the 
common sense of mankind,) Offer it now unto thy Governor, 
will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person P saith the Lord 
of hosts ; (and if your Governor will take it as an affront, much 
more may I,) for lam a great king, saith the Lord ofhosts y 
(ver. 14.) Here it is plain that it was their mean and contempt- 
uous thoughts of God which made them think it would do to 
turn him off any how, and with any thing : And just so it is in 
the case before us : men's thoughts of God are infinitely mean.... 
he is very contemptible in their sight ; and hence, although they 
love themselves, their own honor and interest, above the Lord 
and his glory, and prefer other things, and take more delight in 
that which is not God, than in God himself, yet they say — 
" Wherein do we despise the Lord, affront his majesty, or cast 
u contempt upon him ? We pray in secret and in our families..*. 
" we go to meeting and to sacrament, and help to support the 
" gospel ; and is not all this to honor the Lord ? And wherein 
" do we despise him ?"— Just as if going into your closet twice 
a day, to quiet your conscience, and saying over the old prayer, 
by rote, in your family, that you have repeated morning and 
evening ever since you kept house ; and, in a customary way, 
going to meeting and to sacrament, and paying your minister's 
rate, (and, it may be, not without grudging,)— -just as if this was 
an honoring of God, when, at heart, you do not love him one jot, 
nor care for his honor and interest at all, nor would do any thing 
in religion but for the influence of education and common cus- 
tom, or from legal fears and mercenary hopes, or merely from 
some other selfish consideration : Yea^ just as if this was an 
honoring of God, when, all the time, you cast such infinite con- 
tempt upon him in your heart, as to give your heart to another 
^-^•to that which is not God — to yourself, and to the world ! Let 
a woman treat her husband so, will he be pleased with it, and 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 163 

will he accept her person ? If she does not love her husband at 
ail, or delight in his person, or care for his interest — if she loves 
another man... .has a separate interest of her own, and does noth- 
ing for her husband but to serve her own views, will he now 
think she is a good wife, because morning, nocn, and night, she 
prepares his food, though she does it carelessly, the victuals al- 
ways cold and poorly dressed, hardly fit to eat... .and he knows 
it is all from want of love ? And besides, she thinks she does a 
great deal iov him, and expects her pay, like a lured maid, I — and 
she says to her husband, " Wherein do I despise you ? Am 
" not I always doing for you ?" And she does not feel herself 
to blame, because her husband looks so mean and contemptible 
in her eyes ; and she cares so Hi tie for him, that any thing seems 
good enough for him, while, all the time, her adulterous heart is 
doating on her ldvers. " You do not love me," says her hus- 
band, " but other men have your heart, and you are more a wife 
u to them than to me :" But says she, " I cannot love you, and 
" I cannot but love others ;" and now she seems to herself not 
to blame : So, a wicked world have such mean thoughts of God, 
that they cannot love him at all, and have such high thoughts 
of themselves, that they cannot but love themselves supremely : 
they have such mean thoughts of God that they cannot delight 
in him at all ; but they see a glory in other things, and so in them 
they cannot but delight w r holly : And because they are habit- 
ually insensible of God's infinite glory, hence they are habitual- 
ly insensible of the exceeding sinfulness of these native propen- 
sities of their hearts : So that we see that mean, contemptuous 
thoughts of God are the very foundation of the peace, and quiet, 
and security of men, in a mere form of religion. If they did 
but see who the Lordis, they could not but judge themselves and 
all their duties to be infinitely odious in his sight. Psalm 1. 
21, 22... .These things hast thou done, and I kept silence — thou 
thoughtest I was altogether such an one as thyself ; but I will re- 
prove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes..., Now consider 
this, ye that forget God. Men have such mean thoughts of God, 
and so little regard him, that they are naturally inclined to for* 



. 



164 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

get that there is a God, and to feel and act as if there we 
none. Hence (Psalm xiv. 1.) — The fool saith in his heart, there 
is no God; i. e. he is inclined to feel and act as if there was 
none ; and, therefore, it is added in the next words — Corrupt 
are they. So, the children of Eli, who treated the worship of 
God with great contempt, are said to despise the Lord, and kick 
at his sacrifice ; and yet their consciences did not smite them : 
and the ground of all was tlieir mean, contemptuous thoughts of 
God. I. Sam. ii. 12, 29, SO.. ..The sons of Eli were sons of Be- 
lial, they knew not the Lord. And thus we see that our native 
disposition to love ourselves supremely, live to ourselves ulti- 
mately, and delight wholly in that which is not God, is (wheth- 
er we are sensible of it, or not,) directly contrary to God's liQly 
law, and exceedingly sinful. And I add, 

This native bent of our hearts is the root of all sin, (the posi- 
tive root, I mean, in opposition to a mere privative cause) of all 
our inward corruptions and vicious practices. ...both of those 
which are contrary to the first and to the second table of the 
law — of those which more immediately affront God, and of those 
which more especially respect our neighbor. 

Fro$n this root arises all our evil carriage towards the Lord of 
glory. This is the root of a spirit of self supremacy, whereby 
we, in our hearts, exalt ourselves and our wills above the Lord 
and his will, and refuse to be controuled by him, or be in sub- 
jection unto him. Jehovah assumes the character of most high 
God, supreme Lord and sovereign Governor of the whole 
world, and commands all the earth to acknowledge and obey 
him as such ; but we are all naturally inclined, Pharaoh-like, to 
say, Who is the Lord, that we should obey him ? we know not 
the Lord, nor will we do his will: And hence mankind, all the 
world over, break God's law, every day, before his face ; as if 
they despised h'13 authority in their hearts. And when he 
crosses them in his providences, they, as though it was not his 
right to govern the world, quarrel with him, because they can- 
not have their oxvn zvills, and go in their own ways : This was 
always the way of the children of Israel, those forty years in 



DISTINGUISHED TROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 165 

the wilderness, whose whole conduct exemplifies our nature to 
the life, and in which glass we may behold our faces, and know 
what manner of persons we naturally are. Men love themselves 
above God, and do not like his law, and hence are inclined to 
set up their wills above and against his ; and if they can, they 
will, have their wills, and go in their ways, for all him ; and if 
thev cannot, they will quarrel with him : And hence the apos- 
tle savs, The carnal mind is enmity against Gcd — is not subject i$ 
his Iarv, neither indeed can £?.... Rom. viii. 7. 

And, from this root, arises a spirit of 'self-sufficiency and in- 
dependence, whereby we are lifted up in our own hearts, and hate 
to be beholden to God ; and, having different interests and ends 
from him, naturally think it not safe, and so, upon the whole, 
not liking to trust in him, choose to trust in ourselves, or any 
thing, rather than him. We have a better thought of ourselves 
than of God, as knowing we are disposed to be true to our own 
interests and ends, and therefore had rather trust in ourselves 
than in him ; and besides, we naturally hate to come upon our 
knees to him for every thing : Hence, that in Jer. iL 31. is the 
native language of our hearts — We are lords, we will come no 
more unto thee. We love to have the staff in our own hands, 
for then we can do as we will ; and hate to lie at God's mercv, 
for then we must be at his control ; yea, we had rather trust in 
any thing than in God, he being, of all things, most contrary to 
us : And hence, the Israelites, in their distress, would one while 
make a covenant with Assyria, and then lean upon Egypt ; vea, 
and rob the treasures of the temple to hire their aid, rather than 
be beholden to God : Yea, they would make them Gods of sil- 
ver and gold. ...of wood and stone, and then trust in such lying 
\anities, rather than in the Lord Jehovah : And as face answers 
to face in the water, so does the heart of man to ;rca/L...Prov. xxvii. 
19. This is our very nature. 

Again, from the same root arises a disposition to depart from 
Lord ; for other things appear more glorious, and excellent, 
and soul-satisfying than God — wherefore the hearts of the chil- 
dren of men secretly loathe the Lord, and hanker after other 



166 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

things, and so go away from God to them. Jobxxi. 12, 14,... 

They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the or- 
gan : Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us, for we de- 
sire not the knowledge of thy ways. — Mai. iii. 14, 15. ...It is in 
vain, to serve God : and what profit is it that we have kept his or- 
dinance, and that we have zualked mournfully before the Lord of 
hosts P We call the proud happy. Meditation and prayer are a 
burden to men ; they had rather be almost any where than in 
their closets, because they secretly loathe the Lord : but in other 
things they find comfort.... one in his farm, and another in his 
merchandize.. ..the young man in his frolics, and with his mer- 
ry companions.. ..the old man in his wife, and children, and cat- 
tle, and swine, and house, and lands.... the rich man in his riches 
....the ambitious man in his honors. ...the scholar in his books.... 
the man of contemplation in his nice speculations ; and, in any 
thing, men can take more comfort than in God himself. That 
which angels and saints in heaven, and believers on earth, prize 
above all things, men have naturally the least account of: Psal. 
lxxiii. 25. ...Whom have I in heaven but thee P and there is noth- 
ing on earth I desire besides thee. — Jer. ii. 5, 11, 12, 13... .Thus 
saith the Lord, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that 
they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and be- 
come vain P Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet n& 
gods P But my people have changed their glory for that which 
doth not profit : Be astonished, ye heavens, at this. They have 
forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out 
cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. 

And, from the whole, we may see there is the greatest con- 
trariety between the nature of God and the nature of the sinner: 
and hence God hates sinners (Hob. i. 13.) — and sinners hate him 
{Rom. viii. 7.) — and when sinners come to die, and go into the 
eternal world, they will feel then that they hate him, though 
their nature then will be just the same as it is now ; and they 
will then know that the great reason they did not feel their ha- 
tred of him in this world, was because they did not think nor 
wou J believe that he was such an one. 



DISTINGUISHED EROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 167 

And hence we may see whence it is that we are so averse to 
right apprehensions of God, and whence it is that our insensi- 
bility of his glory, in being what he is, is so invincible, viz. be- 
cause he is, in his very nature, in such perfect contrariety to us, 
and we to him ; for to account that infinitely glorious in being 
what it is, which is of a nature perfectly contrary to us, is as un- 
natural as to account ourselves infinitely hateful in being what 
we are ; for that necessarily implies this : So far, therefore, as 
sinners love themselves for being what they are, so far do they 
hate God for being what he is ; and so far as they hate God for 
being what he is, so far their insensibility of his infinite glory, 
in beingjust such an one, is invincible : And now, since men, 
naturally, perfectly love themselves for being what they are, 
and, consequendy, perfectly hate God for being what he is — 
hence, their minds are, naturally, perfectly prejudiced against 
the true knowledge of God, and perfectly averse from, and insus- 
ceptible of a sense of his infinite glory in being just what he is : 
And hence it is, that neither God's word nor works, nor any 
thing but his almighty spirit, can make men, in their hearts, both 
really give into it that God is just such an one as he is, and in- 
finitely glorious in being such. The heavens may declare the 
glory of the Lord, and make the invisible things of God clear- 
ly to be seen ; and the scriptures and ministers may proclaim 
his greatness and glory, and the honor of his majesty ; out sin- 
ners, in seeing, will not see, and, in hearing, will not hear and 
understand, for they do not like to have God in their knowl- 
edge : They hate the light, and love darkness ; they hate to 
think that God should be such an one. ...can see no glory in him 
in being such.... secretly wish he was another kind of a being.... 
dread to think that he is what he is, and will not, if they can help 
\t....yohn iii. 19, 20 — Rom. i. 28 — John viii. 43, 47. That 
God should love himself more than he does his sinful creatures, 
and value his own honor and interest more than he does our 
happiness, and look upon it as an infinite affront that we are not 
exactly of the same mind, and judge us worthy of eternal dam- 
nation therefor, and, as high Governor of the world, make such 



168 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

a law, and "bind us to it, to do so — -how can this suit a proud re- 
bel, that only loves himself and his own interest, and cares not 
for God at all ? How can a carnal, selfish heart delight in such 
a God, and account him infinitely glorious in being such ? How 
can he rejoice to hear that he sits King forever, and does aH 
things according to the counsel of his own will, aiming ultimate- 
ly attiis own glory ? Or how can he imagine that such a con- 
duct, so directly cross to his temper, is infinitely right and be- 
coming, glorious and excellent? The temper, the bad temper 
of sinners' hearts, is that which renders their insensibility of 
God's glory, in being what he is, so invincible. He does not 
suit them~he does not look upon things as they do — he is not 
disposed, nor does he act as they would have him, but all di- 
rectly contrary.*. .as contrary as light and darkness — as sin and 
holiness — as heaven and %ell: Therefore, the carnal mind is 
enmity against God. But, to return, 

From this same root — this disposition to love ourselves su- 
premely, live to ourselves ultimately, and delight in that which 
is not God wholly, proceeds all our evil carriage towards our 
neighbor. Pride, selfishness, and worldliness, lay the founda- 
tion for all that cheating, lying, backbiting, quarrelling, there is 
among neighbors — and for all the feuds and bloody wars there 
ever have been among all the nations of the earth, from the begin- 
ning of the world : And pride, selfishness, and worldliness, 
together with that enmity against God and true religion, which 
is naturally concomitant, lay the foundation for all those bloody 
persecutions which have been, in the several ages of the world, 
against the church and people of God. If men were not proud 
nor selfish, they would have no inclination to injure their neigh- 
bors, in name or estate : If they took their supreme delight in 
God, as the portion of their souls, they would not have any of 
their little petty idols to quarrel and contend about : If they 
loved their neighbors as themselves, there would never more 
be any thing like persecution ; and all injuries and abuses would 
cease from the earth : So that, to conclude, as a disposition to 
love Gad with all our hearts, and our neighbors as ourselves. 



DISTINGUISHED PROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 169 

is an habitual conformity to the whole law, and laj r s a solid 
foundation for a right carriage towards God and our neighbor, 
in all things — so a disposition, to love ourselves supremely, live 
to ourselves ultimately v and delight in that which is not God 
wholly, is an. habitual .contrariety to the whole law, and lays a 
sad foundation for all evil carriage towards God and our fellow- 
men. And^as I said, this disposition is natural to us, and we 
are naturally entirely under the government of it : and so the 
seed and root of all sin is in us, even in. the native temper of 
our hearts : That which is born of the fleshy is flesh* 

Obj. But if mankind neither love God nor their neighbors with 
a genuine love, such as the law requires, but naturally have, and 
are entirely under the government of a spirit of contrariety to 
the whole law, whence is it that all men do not blaspheme God, and 
do all the mischief they can, and, in practice^ as well as in nature, 
be as bad as devils ? 

Ans. Because of the restraints, which. God> for wise ends 
and purposes, is pleased to lay upon them,, whereby their nature 
is, indeed, not at all altered, but only, in a measure, kept from 
breaking out, as otherwise it would do. And these restraints, 
in ordinary, are such as arise from these things : — (1.) From 
their animal constitution ; whereby many are inclined to be 
tender-hearted, compassionate, and kind, without any regard to 
God or duty, from a sort of natural instinct, much of the same 
nature, to all appearance, as is to be found in many in the bru- 
tal world. . (2.) From natural affection ; whereby,, partly from 
animal nature, and partly from self-love,, and from being brought 
up together, relatives have a certain fondness for one another, 
and so are disposed to be kind to one another, and that without 
any regard to God or duty ; much as it is with many in the 
brutal world. (3.) From a good education; whereby many are 
influenced to be civil in their behavior, honest in Jtheir dealings, 
kind to the poor^ and to pray in their families, and join with 
the church, &cc. though destitute of grace in their hearts. (4.) 
Fromrvor Idly considerations ; whereby, from self-love, in order 
to. avoid punishment from men, or from fear ot disgrace and 



1T0 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

reproach, or to get the good-will of others, or»promote some 
worldly interest, men are, influenced, sometimes, to carry them- 
selves, externally, very well. (5.) From religious considera- 
tions ; whereby, from self-love, the fear of hell, and the hope of 
heaven, many are influenced to do much in religion. (6.) 
Want of speculative knowledge of God.. ..ignorance of his reso- 
lution to punish sin, and of his anger against them, is also an 
occasion of their not blaspheming his name ; as they will do, 
as soon as ever they come into eternity, and see how things re- 
ally are ; though then their nature will be exactly the same that 
it is now. God gives rain and fruitfi.il seasons, and fills the 
hearts of all with food and gladness ; he makes his sun rise, and 
rain fall upon the evil and unthankful, and offers salvation in 
case they repent and believe ; whence men are ready to think 
that God loves them, and this restrains them. These, and such- 
like things, restrain men's corruptions ; but for which, they 
would be as bad in this world as they will be in the next, when 
these restraints come to be taken off. 

To what has been said, may also be added, that God, by 
these three methods, does much to restrain many : — (1 .) By 
his providence ; whereby he many times brings remarkable 
judgments upon men for their sins ; and remarkably prospers 
men, as to the things of this world, who are true to their word, 
and honest in their dealings : and hereby men are afraid to be 
and do as bad as otherwise they would, lest some judgment 
should come upon them ; and others are influenced to be hon- 
est, and to carry themselves, externally, well, in hopes of a 
worldly blessing. (2.) By his word — his written word, and 
his word preached ; whereby men are made more sensible that 
there is a heaven and a hell ; and so are the more restrained 
and kept in awe. (3.) By his spirit ; whereby he does much 
to make many a man sensible of the evil of sin, the dreadful- 
ness of damnation, and the glory of heaven, whom he never 
sanctifies : whereby they are not only restrained from vicious 
practices, but their corruptions also are greatly stunned, and 
they made zealous promoters of religion;; ^{Heb* vi. 4.) And 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. lfl 

thus the supreme Governor of the world restrains men's corrup- 
tions, and maintains some degree of order among his rebellious 
subjects. 

But vet, all these restraints notwithstanding, there is, and al- 
wavs has been, abundance of wickedness committed in this 
apostate world. They have murdered God's servants, the pro- 
phets, whom the Lord has sent unto them, rising early and send- 
ing ; and they have killed his Son, and his apostles, and shed 
the blood of thousands and millions of his saints. So great has 
been their aversion to God ! and so great their cruelty ! And 
by the many wars there have been among the nations, from the 
beginning, the whole earth has been filled with blood. And 
by cheating, and lying, and backbiting, and contention, &c. 
hateful and hating one another, innumerable injuries have been 
done to, and unspeakable miseries brought upon, one another. 
And as soon as ever mankind have their restraints taken off at 
deadi, without having any sin infused into their nature, the y will 
appear to be what they are — they will feel and act like very devils. 

But, in the mean while, by means of these restraints, many 
deceive themselves ; for our corruptions being thus capable of 
being restrained, and, as it were, stunned, and our lives of be- 
ing prettv well regulated, to appearance, while our nature re- 
mains the same, and we feeling ourselves able to do considera- 
ble towards this — hence many are deceived, and take this to be 
real religion, and think they did, and that others may convert 
themselves, with but comparatively little assistance from God's 
spirit : And truly so they might, if this was true religion, and 
conversion consisted in thus reforming our lives, and restrain- 
ing our corruptions : But, in conversion, our very nature must 
be changed, (II Cor. v. 17.)-*— the native bent of our hearts must 
be turned, (Ezei. xxxvi. 26.) ; and from this we are naturally 
wholly averse : And hence arises the absolute necessity of a su- 
pernatural, irresistible grace, in order to our conversion ; — of 
which more afterwards. But to return, 

From what has been said, we see that we are natively dispo- 
sed to love ourselves supremely. ...to live to ourselves ukimate- 



172 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 






ly, and delight in that which is not God, wholly ; and that this 
disposition, by which we are, naturally, entirely governed, in 
all things, and under all circumstances, is in direct contrariety 
to the holy law of God, and is exceedingly sinful, and is the root 
of all sin.... of all our evil carriage towards God and man, in 
heart and life : So that, as to have a disposition to love God 
with ail our hearts, and our neighbor as ourselves, is a radical 
conformity to the whole law- — so this contrary disposition is a 
radical contrariety to the whole law : Well, therefore,. may the 
holy scriptures speak of sinners 3s being dead in sin, and at en- 
mity against God, and, by nature, children of wrath, and repre- 
sent them so frequently as being enemies to God, (Eph.n. 1, 
3— i?om.viiio- 7, and v. 10 — II. Cor. v. 18 — 20.) since, by 
comparing ourselves with the holy law of God, we are found to 
be, in fact, natively so, in the temper of our minds : Anditw r ill 
be forever in vain for mankind to plead not guilty, since- the law 
of God is what it is, and we are what, we are ; for, by the law, 
by which is the knowledge of sin, viz evidently stand condemned. 

Here it may be objected, "That we are, natively, no other' 
u wise than God makes us ; and if, therefore, we are natively 
a sinful, God made us so ; and, by consequence, is the author 
" of sin" But this objection has been already obviated ; . for, as 
has been observed, God only creates the naked essence of our 
souls....our natural faculties.... a pow r er to think, and will, and to 
love, and hate ;, and this evil bent of our hearts is not of his ma- 
king, but is the spontaneous propensity of our oxvn wills ; for 
we, being born devoid of the divine image, ignorant of God, 
and insensible of his glory, do, of our own accord, turn to our- 
selves, and the things of time and sense, and to any thing that 
suits a graceless heart, and there all our affections centre ; from 
whence we natively become averse to God, and to all that which 
is spiritually good, and inclined to all sin : So that the positive 
corruption of our nature is not any thing created by God, but 
arises ?nerely from a privative cause. 

Here it will be objected again,. " That it is not consistent with 
u the divine perfections to bring, mankind into the world under 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 173 

" such sad and unhappy circumstances." — But who art thou,0 
man, thatrepliest against God? Shall the thing formed say vnto 
Him that formed it, Why hast thou formed me thus t It is blas- 
phemous to say, that it is not consistent with the divine perfec- 
tions to do what God, in fact, does. It is a plain matter of 
fact, that we are born into the world devoid of the divine image, 
ignorant of God, insensible of his infinite glory : And it is a 
plain matter of fact, that, in consequence hereof, we are natively 
disposed to love ourselves supremely, live to ourselves ultimate- 
ly, and delight in that which is not God, wholly : And it is 
plain, to a demonstration, that this temper i$ in direct contrari- 
ety to God's holy law.. ..is exceedingly sinful, and is the root 
of all wickedness. — Now, to say it is not consistent with the di- 
vine perfections that mankind should be brought into the world, 
as, in fact, they are, is wickedly to fiy in the face of our al- 
mighty Creator, and expressly charge him with unrighteous- 
ness ; which, surely, does not become us. If we cannot see 
into this dispensation of divine providence, yet we ought to re- 
member, that God is holy in all his ways, and righteous in all 
his rvorks, and that the judge of all the earth always does right. 
I do not mean that things are therefore right, merely because 
God does them ; for if they were not right to be done, antece- 
dently to his doing of them, he would not, he could not do them ; 
But I mean, that when it is a plain matter of fad that God does 
such a thing, we may thence conclude that it is most certainly 
right for him to do so, although we cannot understand how it is. 
We ought to remember that he is infinite in his understanding, 
and, at one comprehensive view, beholds all things, and so can- 
not but know what is right, and what is wrong, in all cases ; and 
his judgment is unbiassed.... the rectitude of his nature is per- 
fect : he cannot, therefore, but do right always, and, in all in- 
stances, govern the world in righteousness. But our minds are 
narrow and contracted — we are but of yesterday, and know noth- 
ing ; and besides, our judgments are biassed through our mean 
thoughts of God, and high thoughts of ourselves ; and hence 
we may be easily mistaken : Especially, in this case, ourminds 



174 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

are sadly biassed, and it is almost impossible for us to consider 
the matter with a spirit of disinterested impartiality : And these 
considerations ought to check our rising thoughts, and make us 
lie down in the dust before the great, and righteous, and good 
Governor of the world, with humble silence, even although we 
cannot understand his ways : And I believe that a humble dis- 
position of heart would lay an effectual foundation for us to 
come to be satisfied in this matter — it being our mean thoughts 
of God, and high thoughts of ourselves, which blinds our minds 
that we cannot see, and disposes us to quarrel with our Creator, 
and find fault with the Ruler and disposer of the world. It is 
true, that the holy scriptures consider mankind as being what 
they are, and say but little about the way in which they came to 
be in such a condition : And there is good reason for it -, for 
it is of infinitely greater importance that we should know what 
a condition we are in, than how we came into it : And it is a 
foolish thing for us, and contrary to common sense, to lay the 
blame any where but upon ourselves, since we are voluntarily 
such as we are, and really love to be what we are — do not sin- 
cerely desire to be otherwise, but are utterly averse from it. — 
But yet the holy scriptures say so much about the way of our 
coming into our present condition, as might fully satisfy our 
minds, were not our judgments biassed ; for from them we 
learn, that man was made tip right.,.. was created in God's image \ 
and, by rebelling against his Maker, brought a curse upon himself 
and all his race. ...Gen. i. 27- — Eccle. vii. 29 — Rom. v. 12 — 19. 
There we read, that by one man, sin entered into the world — » 
that by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners — that 
by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemna- 
tion. Adam was created in the image of God — it was connatu- 
ral to hiin to love God with all his heart, and this would have 
been our case, had he not rebelled against God ; but now we 
are born devoid of the divine image — have no heart for God — 
are transgressors from the womb. ...£// nature children of xv rath. 

And if any should enquire, * c But can it be right that Ad- 
fam's sin should have any influence upon i 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 175 

I answer — It is a plain case that it actual/:/ has, and we may 
depend upon it that the Judge of all the earth always does right. 
And besides, why might not God make Adam our public head 
and representative, to act in our room, as he has since, for our 
recoverv, made his oxvn Son our public head and representative i 
....Rom. v. 12 — 21. He had as much right, power, and author- 
ity for one as for the other : and was not Adam as likely to 
remain obedient as any of us should have been, and, in some 
respects, more likely? His natural powers were ripe; he stood 
not onlv for himself, but for all his race ; — a whole world lay at 
stake : And if he had kept the covenant of his God, and se- 
cured happiness to all his race, should we not forever have 
blessed God for so good a constitution ? Never once should 
we have questioned God's right and authority to make him our 
public head and representative, or have thought that it did not 
become his wisdom and goodness to trust our all in his hands. 
And if we should thus have approved this constitution, had 
Adam never sinned, why might we not as justly appro ve 
it now, if we would be but disinterestedly impartial ? It is the 
same, in itself, noxv, that it would have been then.... every way 
as holy, just, and good. — u Oh, but for God to damn a whole 
world for one sin !" But stay — does not this arise from mean 
thoughts of God, and high thoughts of yourself ? O, think who 
the Lord is ! and what it is for a worm to rise in rebellion 
against him ! and how he treated whole thousands of glorious 
angels for their first sin ! and then, think how God drowned 
the old world,., .burnt Sodom.... and of the dreadful things he in- 
tends to do to the impenitent at the day of judgment ! and 
learn, and believe, that sin is an infinitely greater evil than we 
naturally imagine. 

But I must return to my subject, for it is not my present busi- 
ness so much to show hoxv we came into this condition, as plain- 
ly to point out what that condition is, which we are actually in. 
As to this, the whole scriptures are very plain ; but especially 
the laxv, l>j which is the knowledge of sin, clearly discovert what 
our case is, and, bevond dispute, proves that all are under sin. 

z 



1TC TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

And having already, by comparing ourselves with the law, 
found out what our nature is, I proceed to make some further 
observations, in which I design greater brevity. 

4. From what has been said, we may learn that the very best 
religious performances of all unregenerate men are, complexly 
considered, sinful, and so, odious in the sight of God. They 
may do many things materially good, but the principle, end, and 
manner of them are such, as that, complexly considered, what 
they do is sin in the sight of God : For sin is a transgression 
of the knv. But, 

(1.) The iaw requires all mankind to do ever}' duty but of 
love to God, and for his glory : But all unregenerate persons, 
directly contrary to law, do every duty merely out of love to 
themselves, and for self-ends ; and so, are guilty of rebellion. 

(2.) The law requires all mankind to do every dutv out of 
love to God, and for his glory : But all unregenerate persons 
do every duty merely out of love to themselves, and for self- 
ends ; whereby they prefer themselves, and their inter est, above 
God and his glory ; and so, are guilty of spiritual idolatry. 

(3.) The law T requires all mankind to do every duty from love 
to God, and for his glory : But all unregenerate persons do ev- 
ery dutv mt rely from self-love, and for self-ends ; and yet hyp* 
ocritically pretend to God, that they love and obey him ; and so, 
arc guilty of mocking God. 

(4.) The law supposes that God infinitely deserves to be 
loved with all our hearts, ,and obeyed in every thing, and that 
our neighbor deserves to be loved as ourselves ; and that, there- 
fore, if we should yield perfect obedience in all things, yet we 
should deserve no thanks : But all unregenerate persons make 
much of their duties, though such miserable, poor things ; and 
so, affront God to his very face-. 

Upon these four accounts, their very best performances are 
done in a manner directly contrary to the law of God, and so are 
sinful, and therefore odious m the sight -of God : (Prov. xv. 8, 
and xxi. 27 — Ram. viii, 8 — Psalm lxxxviii. 36, 37.) As is the 
tree, so is the fruit— -as is the fountain, so are the streams ; and 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 177 

as is the man, so are his doings, in the sight of God, who looks 
at the heart, [Mat. xiL 33, 34, 35,) and judges not according 
to appearance, but judges righteous judgment ; and with whom 
many things, that are highly esteemed among men, are. abom> 
nation. 

And if their best religious performances are thus odious in 

the sight of God, it is certain, that they cannot possibly, in the 

ire of things, have the least tendency to make amends for 

their past sins, or recommend them to the divine favor ; but 

Esther tend to provoke God still more : So that it is not of him 

that vjills,nor of him that runs, but of God that shows ntisrey* 

Nor is there the least hope in the sinner's case, but what arises 

from the sovereign mercy of God ; whereby he can, have mercy 

;i he will have mercy, and have compassion on whom he 

I have compassion. ...Rorn. ix. 15, 18. 

True, some, being ignorant of the law, and of our entir© 
contrariety to it, hi icied a goodness in the sinner's duties ; 

and hence have persuaded diemselves that there are promises 
of special grace made to them : — Not that there are any prom-f 
scripture, of that nature ; for the scripture everywhere 
considers us as being, while unregenerate, dead in s/;?....Eph. 
ii. 1 — Enemies r. ...Rom.v. 10 — II. Cor. v. 17 — 20 — » 

Col. i. 21 — yea, enmity against /i/w....Rom. viii. 7— and so 
far from any true and acceptable obedience to God, as that we 
/zsr, nor can be subject to the law, and so cannct please God 
....Rom. viii. 7, 8 — and every where represents such as bei 
under the wrath of God. ...the curse of the hnv, and a pre*, 
condemnation.. ..John iii. 18, 36 — Rom. i. IS — GaL ii i - l€ : 
But the real ground of their opinion is, their ignorance of i> i 
sinner's sinful, guilty circumstances, and their fond conceit that 
some real goodness in what the sinner does ; both which 
are owing to their ignorance of the law,* and of the nature of 

* It is manifest that this notion of the promises, of which Pt'agius w I 
the author, and which was condemned for heresy above 130 

m, and dots, wjth his followers, take its rise, original 
tht.-ir ignorance c .ureand; ; of the moral law. But; 

good men may have been inadvertently led into this trior bj the 



1T3 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

true holiness.. ..Rom. vii. 8, 9— Rom. x. 3. All will own, that 
if sinners' duties are such as I have represented, it is absurd, 
and even inconsistent with the divine perfections, that promises 
cf special grace should be made to them. 

It is true they refer to Mat. xxv. 29«... To him that hath, shall 
be given. But that text evidently speaks of the final rewards 
which shall be given to the godly at the day of judgment ; when 
all the unregenerate shall, with the slothful servant, be cast into 
outer darkness. They quote also Mat. vii. 7. ...Ask and you 
shall receive, &lc. But the condition of this promise was never 
yet performed by an unregenerate sinner : For this asking is 
meant right asking ; for those who ask amiss, receive nothing 
....James iv. 3. Right asking of grace, supposes right desires 
of it ; but the unregenerate are, in the habitual temper of their 
hearts, directly contrary to grace and all spiritual good, and en* 
tirery so, as has been proved : But to have genuine desires af- 
ter a thing, and a perfect contrariety to it, in the whole heart, at 
the same time, is an express contradiction. The reason that 
sinners many times think that they love holiness, and desire 
heartily and sincerely to be made holy, is, that they, being ig- 
norant of the nature of true holiness, have framed a false image 
of it in their own fancies. Did they but distinctly know the 
very thing itself , their native contrariety to it could no longer be 
hid.. .iRo?n* vii. 8,9. So the Pharisees thought they loved God, 
and loved his law ; although, at the same time, they perfectly 
hated the Son cf God, who was the express image of his Father, 
and came into the world to do honor to his Fathers lav/. They 
had wrong notions of God, and of his law. 
Obj. But this tends to drive sinners to despair* 
Ans. Only to despair of being saved by their own righteous- 
ness, which they must be driven to, or they will never submit to be 
saved by free grace through Jesus Christ.. .Rom. vii. 8, 9, and x. 3. 

education. I believe men's hearts may be sometimes better than their 
heads : but when a false scheme of religion does perfectly suit a man's 
heart, and express the temper of his mind, then, no doubt, he is graceless 
....II. lfoL-i ix. and John viii. 47. The above notion of the promises per* 
fectly suic3 a self-righteous heart. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 179 

Obj. But, if these things be true, there is not any motive to 
excite a poor sinner to reform, or pray, or read, or do any thing* 

Ans. By which it is plain, that a sinner cares not a jot for 
God, and will not go one step in religion, only for what he can 
get : and if such a sinner had ever so many motives, he would 
only serve himself, but not serve God at all. And what en- 
couragement can God, consistent with his honor, give to such 
an one, since he merits hell every moment, even by his best du- 
ties, but only that which St. Peter gave to Simon Magus ? Acts 
viii. 22.. ..Repent, and pray to God,if veradvext v re the wick- 
edness of thy heart may be for given thee. 

Obj. But this way of reasoning will make sinners leave off 
seeking and striving, and sit down discouraged. 

Ans. Not if sinners are but effectually awakened to see how 
dreadful damnation is ; for a bare who can tell? will make such 
resolve to run, and fight, and strive, and beg, and pray, till they 
die ; and if they perish, to perish at God's foot : And as for 
others, all their courage arises from their not seeing what wretch- 
ed, miserable, sinful, guilty creatures they are ; and so must 
be dashed to pieces, sooner or later, in this world or the next, 
whenever their eyes come to be opened. And if God ever, in 
this world, shows them what they are, they will thereby per- 
ceive what danger they are in : and novo a mere who can tell ? 
will make them also resolve to run for eternal salvation, till their 
very last breath. It is best that false confidence should be kill- 
ed ; and this way of reasoning does not, in the least, tend to hurt 
any other : It is best that sinners should know the worst of 
their case ; and this way of reasoning does not tend to make it 
appear a jot worse than it is. 

Obj. But what good does it do for sinners to be in such earnest 
to reform, read, xvaich, pray , run, fight, strive, as for their lives, 
since all they dots sin, and God will have mercy only on whom 
he will have mercy. 

Ans. (1.) It is less sin to do these things, than not to do them. 

(2.) Sinners never will be in such earnest, only when God 
comes to awp.kcn and convince, and so to make them effectual- 



180 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 






ly sensible of the dreadful state they are in ; and it is not any 
discouragements that can keep them from being in such earnest 
therif so long as the least- hope appears in their case. Other 
people care but little about eternal things, and do but very little 
in religion, but what education, custom, the fashion, and their 
worldly interest, excite them unto. Most people think it so 
easy a thing to be saved, as that they look upon such great con- 
cern and earnestness as perfect frenzy. 

(3.) This great earnestness of awakened sinners makes them 
try their strength to purpose ; whereby they come to be experi- 
mentally convinced that it is not in their hearts to love God, be 
sorry for sin, or do any thing that is good; whereby the high 
conceit they used to have of their ability and good nature is 
brought down, and they feel and find that they are enemies to 
God, and dead in sin : and hereby a foundation is laid for them 
to see the justice of God in their damnation, and so the reason- 
ableness of God's having mercy only on whom- he will have 
mercy : And thus, the lav/, though it cannot give life, yet is a 
school-master to bring men to Christ : And thus the main good 
the awakened sinner gets, by going to this school-master, is ef- 
fectually to learn his need of Christ,*and of the free grace of 
God through h\m... .Rom. vii. 8, 9....GV//. iii. 21 — 24: This is 
the great end God lias in view, and this end all the sinner's ear- 
nest strivings are well calculated to obtain.. 

5. From what has been said, we may learn the nature of a 
saving conversion, and the manner xvherein it it wrought. Con- 
version consists in our being recovered, from our present sinful- 
ness, to the moral image of God ; or, which is the same thing, 
to a real conformity to the moral law : But a conformity to the 
moral law consists in a disposition to love God supremely, live 
to him ultimately, and delight in him superlatively — and to love 
our neighbor as ourselves. ...and a practice agreeable thereto : 
And therefore conversion consists in our being recovered from 
what we are by nature, to such a disposition and practice. 

And now, in order to such a glorious renovation and recove- 
ry, God, by his spirit, sets home tfre law upon the sinner's heart, 

4 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 181 

causing him to see and feel, to purpose, just how he has lived, 
and what he is, and what he deserves, and how he is in the hands 
of a sovereign God, and at his disposal ; whereby the hindran- 
ces which were in the way of his conversion, are, in a sort, re- 
moved. Rom. vii. 8, 9... .For without the law, sin ivas dead : 
For I was alive without the law once ; but when the command* 
ment came, sin revived, and I died : And then -God, who com- 
manded the light to shine oat of darkness, shines in the heart, and 
gives the light -of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of 
Jesus Christ. ..,11. Cor. iv. 6. And now a sense of the glory 
of God and divine things being thus imparted to the soulbythe 
spirit of God, and the sinner being raised up from spiritual 
death to spiritual life, does return home to God through Jesus 
Christ, venturing his soul and immortal concerns upon the free 
grace of God, and through him gives up himself to God, to be 
his forever— to love him supremely — live to him entirely, and 
delight in him superlatively, and forever to walk in all his ways : 
and hereby, at the same time, the man's heart begins to be ha- 
bitually framed to love his neighbor as himself, with a disinter- 
ested impartiality ; and thus an effectual foundation is laid for 
universal external obedience, and that from genuine principles* 
And as the divine life is thus begun, so it is carried on in the 
soul much after the same manner. The spirit of God shews 
the believer, more and more, what a poor, sinful, hell-deserving 
wretch he is in himself, and so makes him more and more sen- 
sible of his absolute need of free grace, through Jesus Christ, to 
pardon and to sanctify him. He grows in a sense of these 
things all his days ..; whereby his heart is kept humble, andChrist 
and free grace made more precious- The spirit of God shews 
the believer, more and more, of the infinite glory and excellen- 
cy of God, whereby he -is more and more influenced to love 
him, live to him, and delight in him with all his heart : and, 
by the whole, his heart is frameel more and more to love his 
neighbor as himself : And thus the path of the just is like a shi- 
ning light, that shines more aiul more, to tlic perfect .day, (Prov. 
iv. 18.) ; only, it must be observed, that the spirit's operations, 



182 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

after conversion, are attended with two differences, arising from 
two causes : — (1.) From the different state of the subject 
wrought upon. The believer not being under the law as a. cov- 
enant, is not, by the spirit, filled with those legal terrors arising 
\n the fears of hell, as heretofore he wzs....Rom. viii. 15 ; 
but only is made sensible of his remaining sinfulness, and the 
sinfulness and desert of sin, and of God's fatherly displeasure ; 
and hereby his heart is humbled and broken : Indeed, hereby 
he is many times filled with unspeakable anguish and bitterness 
of soul. His sins are ever before his eyes, and his bones wax 
old through his roaring all the day long.... Psalm xxiii. 3, and 
li. 3. He is troubled.... he is bowed down greatly. ...he goes mourn* 
ing all the day fo72g\... Psalm xxxviii. 1 — 6. But these awa- 
kening, convincing, humbling, mourning, purifying times, al- 
ways end in peace and joy, and rest in God — attended with a 
greater degree of tenderness of conscience and holy watchful- 
ness, and followed with bringing forth more fruit.... Psalm xcvii. 
1 1, and cxxvi. 5, 6. — Psalm xxxii. 5, and lxxiii. 25 — 28. — John 
xv. 2. — II. Cor. vii. 10, 11. — Heb. xii. 11. — Hos. ii. 6, 7, 14, 15. 
(2.) From the different nature of the subject wrought upon. 
The believer not being under the full power of sin, and at per- 
fect enmity against God, as once he was, hence does not resist 
the spirit with the whole heart, while he takes down the power 
of sin, as heretofore he did ; but has a genuine disposition to 
join in on God's side, and say, " Let me be effectually weaned 
" from the world, and humbled, and made holy and heavenly, 
u and be brought into an entire subjection to God in all things, 
u though by means and methods ever so cross to flesh and blood : 
a Let me be stript naked of all worldly comforts, and let Shimei 
u curse, and all outward evils and inward anguish of heart come 
" upon me, if nothing else will do. Here, Lord, I am in thy 
" hands ; chasten, correct, do what thou wilt with me, only let 
" sin die — sin, thine enemy, the worst evil, and the greatest 
* burden of my soul."....i?0>w. vii. 24. — II. Cor. iv. 8, 9, 16. — 
James i. 2. — Psalm cxix. 71 . — Heb. xii. 9. And he is not only 
thus willing that God should, by any methods, take down the 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 183 

power of sin in the heart, but also joins in with the methods of 
divine grace, and, by watching and praying, and by fighting and 
striving, seeks the death of every corruption : And from his 
thus joining in on God's sid^s against the flesh, he is said, in scrip- 
ture, to crucify *7....Gal. v. 24 — and to zvork out his oxvn salva- 
tion... .V\\\\. ii. 13. 

From what has been said under this head, we may see that 
a saving conversion differs very much from the conversion of 
these four sorts of men : — (1.) The -worldly hypocrite ; who 
makes a profession of religion... .does many things.... appears 
zealous, and pretends to be a good man, merely from worldly 
considerations, and to be seen of men... .Mat. xxiii, 5, (2.) 
The legal hypocrite ; whose conversion is nothing else but a 
leaving off his vicious practices, and turning to be strict and 
conscientious in external duties, in hopes thereby to make 
amends for his past sins, and recommend himself to God ; and 
so escape hell, and get to heaven.. ..Rom. x. 3. (3.) Theevan* 
gelical hypocrite ; whose conversion w r as nothing else but this : 
. — he was awakened to see his sins, and terrified with fear of 
hell, and humbled, in a measure, but not thoroughly.... but great 
light broke into his mind, and now he believes that Christ loves 
him, and has pardoned all his sins, and so is filled with joy and 
seal, and is become quite another man ; but, still, has no 
grace,... Mat. xiii. 20 — Heb. vi„ 4 — II. PeU ii. 20: These 
usually either fall away to carnal security, or, being puffed up 
with pride, turn enthusiasts. (4.) The wild, blazing enthusi- 
ast—whose conversion all arises from imaginary notions. He 
has an imaginary sight of his sin.. ..his heart.. ..the wrath of God 
....of hell and the devil, and is terribly distressed: and then 
he sees Christ in a bodily shape, it may be on the cross with 
his blood running, or, seated on a throne of glory at his'father's 
right hand — he sees a great light shining all round him.... hears 
the angels sing.. ..sees visions... .hears voices.. ..has revelations, 
and thinks himself one of the very best saints in the whole world, 
though, in truth, he, by scandalous practices, or heretical prin- 

♦..iples, or both, soon appears to be seven times more a child of 

A A 



c 



184 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

the devil than he was before : However, in his own conceit, 
he knows infallibly that he is right, and all the world cannot con- 
vince him to the contrary : Yea, he is fit, at once, to be a min- 
ister, though ignorant of the first principles of religion ; he is 
inspired by God, and whoever likes him not is an enemy to Je- 
sus Christ, he doubts not at all. These are the tares the de- 
vil sows, by means of whom the ways of God are evil spoken 
oi....Mat. xiii. 39— II. Cor. xi. 14 — I. Tint. i. 7. 

Now these several sorts of religion, the true and the false, 
growing up from these several roots, do all receive a different 
nourishment, according to their different nature ; through which 
nourishment they grow and increase ; and through the want of 
which they decay. The good man, the greater sense he has of 
God's infinite glory, as he has revealed himself in the law and 
in the gospel, so, proportionably, does his religion flourish and 
grow in all its various branches, and shine with a heavenly lus- 
tre : The worldly hypocrite lays out himself most in religion, 
when there are the most to observe and applaud him : The le- 
gal hypocrite, when his conscience is most terrified with the 
thoughts of death, judgment, and eternity : And the evangelical 
hypocrite has his affections raised, his love, and joy, and zeal, 
in proportion to his supposed discoveries of the love of Christ 
to him, in particular, and sense of the glories of a (fancied) heav- 
en : And, finally, the blazing enthusiast is more or less lively in 
religion according as he has dreams, hears voices, has impres- 
sions and revelations, and is applauded by his party. And, ac- 
cordingly, those different sorts of religion will grow and thrive 
the best under such different sorts of preaching as suits their 
several natures : And men will cry up those ministers most, 
w T hose preaching and conduct agree with their hearts the best. 
Mic. iv. 5... .For all people tuillwalk, everyone in the name of his 
God: And true believers will ivalk in the name of tJie Lord 
their God. 

6. From all that has been said, we may learn that a sinner is 
naturally disposed to resist the spirit of God with all his might r 
when he comes to awaken, convince, and humble him.. ..to take 



DISTINGUISHED PROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 185 

down the power of sin in his heart, and turn him to God. — 
Conversion consists in our being recovered from the sinful state 
we are in, by nature, to a real conformity to the divine law ; i. 
e. in our being recovered from a disposition to love ourselves 
supremely, live to ourselves ultimately, and delight in that which 
is not God wholly.... and a practice agreeable to this disposition ; 
— to a disposition to love God supremely, live to him ultimate- 
ly, and delight in him superlatively, and to love our neighbors as 
ourseives...\nd a practice agreeable thereto ; i. e. in other words, 
in our being recovered from one disposition, to another direcdy 
contrary to it — even so contrary, that the first must die, in or- 
der to the other's existence. This disposition, from which we 
arc to be recovered, is not any habit contracted merely by cus- 
tom, which might more easily be parted with ; but it is connat- 
ural to us — a disposition rooted, as it were, in our verv nature, 
and which has the full possession of our souls, and the entire 
government of our hearts ; — in a word, a disposition which we 
in every respect perfectly love, and which we perfectly hate 
should be ever crossed, and which yet must be slain, or we nev- 
er converted. Now, if ever a sinner be recovered from this 
disposition, it is evident it must be against the very grain of his 
heart : his heart, Uierefore, will make the utmost resistance it 
possibly can. 

If we were entirely renewed in an instant, without any pre- 
vious strivings of the spirit, then, indeed, there would be no room 
nor time for resistance ; but, otherwise, the heart will resist : 
If there were the least disposition in our hearts, contrary to our 
natural disposition to love ourselves supremely, live to ourselves 
ultimately, and delight in that which is not God wholly, it might 
join in on God's side... be sincerely desirous that God would slay 
the enmity of our hearts ; but there is not : The carnal mind is 
wholly enmity against God — is not subject to his law, nor can 
be \_ and so the whole heart will make resistance. If the dis- 
position, to which we are recovered in conversion, were not so 
direcdy contrary to our natural disposition, as that our natural 
disposition must be slain, in order to the very being of that,, the 



186 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

sinner's opposition might not be so great ; but, when all that is 
within him is directly crossed and going to be killed, all that is 
within him will oppose and resist, till slain. We are, by nature, 
wholly in the flesh and after the flesh : According to a scripture- 
phrase, that which is born of the flesh, is flesh ; and, by conver- 
sion, we are to become spirit. ...That which is born of the spirit, 
is spirit. But the flesh and the spirit are, in scripture, repre- 
sented as being contrary the one to the other : Will^fesA, then, 
of its own accord, become spirit ? No, surely : for theflesh lust- 
eih against the spirit ; i. e, is wholly averse from it, and set against 
it : so that there is no other way but for the flesh to be crucified, 
with the affections and lusts : But the flesh perfectly hates this 
death, and therefore will resist with all its might. ..,Rom. viii. 
?, 8 — John iii. 6— Gal. v. IT— Rom. vh 6. 

As the truth of this point is thus evident, from, the reason 
and nature of things, so it is farther confirmed from constant 
experience : For, let any man read the Bible with attention, and 
he may plainly see that the very thing which God has always 
been aiming at, in all the external means he has used with his 
professing people, in every age of the world, has been to recover 
them to a conformity to his holy law, in heart and life ; i. e. to 
recover them from a disposition to love themselves supremely, 
Hve to themselves ultimately, and delight in that which is not 
God wholly, and a practice agreeable thereunto, to a dis- 
position to love God supremely, live to him ultimately, and de- 
light in him superlatively, and to love their neighbors as them- 
selves, and to practise accordingly : For on these two commands 
Jiang all the laxv and the prophets. And we may also 
plainly see, that God's professing people have always manifest- 
ed the greatest aversion to hearken to the law and to the proph- 
ets t and so to die to themselves, the world, and sin ; and thus to 
give up themselves to God, to love him, live to him, delight in 
him, and walk in all his ways. God sent all his servants, the 
prophets, to the children of Israel, rising early and sending j 
but they always hated their words, and so stopped their ears, 
and refused to obey : yea, they fell into a rage at them, and, in 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 187 

their rage, they mocked them. ...they scourged them... .they 
bound them.... they imprisoned them... .they stoned them... .they 
sawed them asunder, and made the rest wander about in deserts 
and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth, in sheep- 
skins and goat-skins, destitute, afflicted, tormented.... Heb. xi. 
35 — 38 : And when God sent his weli-beloved Son to call a 
wicked world to return home unto him, they said, Come, let us kill 
him. ...Mat. xxi. 33 — 39. And when Christ sent his apostles to 
carry the glad tidings of pardon and peace to the ends of the 
earth, and call all men to repent and be converted — to return, 
and love, and serve the living God, both Jexvs and Gentiles con- 
spired together against them, and killed them — just as the ten 
tribes killed the messenger whom Rehoboam sent unto them, 
to call and invite them to return to their former allegiance. ...I. 
Kings xii. 1 8. Therefore, says our blessed Savior to the Jews, 
who pretended great love to God and to the law, and mightily 
to honor their prophets, You are like xvhited sepulchres ; you 
appear outwardly righteous, but inwardly are full of all hypocri- 
sy and wickedness. Tour fathers killed the prophets, whom you 
pretend to honor, but you are full as bad as they were. Yeser* 
pents. ...ye generation of vipers, &c. Wherefore, behold, Isendun* 
to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes ; and some Gf them ye 
shall kill and crucify, and some of them ye shall scourge in your 
synagogues, and persecute them from city to city. Jerusalem, 
Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that 
are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children 
together, even as the hen gather eth her chickens under her wings, 
and ye would not !...Mat. xxiii. 27 — 37. From all which, 
nothing can be plainer, than that this rebellious, God-hating 
world always have been set against a return to God, and been 
disposed to do all they could, to render all means ineffectual. 
Well might St. Stephen, therefore, say unto the Jews as he did, 
in Acts vii. 51. ...Ye stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and 
ears, ye do always resist the holy Ghost : as your fathers did, 
so do ye : nor had they any reason to be angry with him therefor. 
And as all, who have enjoyed the external means of grace, 



188 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

have thus been disposed to hate the light.. ..shut their eyes.... 
stop their ears, and refuse to hear, and been utterly opposed to 
a return to God ; so this is evidently the case with all whom 
God has inwardly wrought upon by his spirit- — as all know, who 
have either had any experience themselves, or have candidly 
observed the experience of others : And, indeed, it must be 
so ; for the very same temper which will make men resist the 
outward^ will also dispose them to resist the inzvard means of 
grace. For the holy spirit teaches and urges the very same 
things that Moses and the prophets, and Christ and his apostles 
teach and urge, and pursues the same end ; and will, therefore, 
of consequence, meet with the same opposition and resistance, 
from the very same quarter. This is the condemnation, that 
light has come into the xvorld, and men love darkness rather than 
light, because their deeds are evil... .He that doth evil hateth the 
light. ...John iii. 19, 20. That light which will discover men's 
evil deeds, and shew them their fallen, sinful, guilty, helpless, 
undone condition.... and so spoil all their worldly, carnal com- 
forts, the very idols of their hearts. ...and also kill their legal, 
self-righteous hopes, which is all the awakened and concerned 
sinner has, to his own sense and apprehension, to depend upon 
— that light which affects things, which are so directly cross to 
the inward temper of the sinner's heart, he will naturally be dis- 
posed to hate.. ..shut his eyes against.. .flee from and resist with 
all his might ; and that whether it comes from the external teach- 
ings of the word, or internal teachings of the spirit : Yea, 
so long as there is the least remainder of corruption left in be- 
lievers themselves, it will hate to die, and struggle with all its 
might to keep its ground — yea, and to recover its former do- 
minion : Rom. vii. 23. ...I see another law in my members, war- 
ring against the law in my mind, and bringing me into cafrtivity 
to thelaxv of sin, xvhich is in my members : Yea, it implies a con- 
tradiction to suppose corruption can in any case be willing to 
die ; for every temper in our hearts naturally loves to be grat- 
ified and pleased, and it is a contradiction to suppose it can, at 
the same time, be willing to be crossed and killed.... GaL v. 17. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 189 

Ob j. But do not awakened sinners earnestly desire to repent of 
Kind be humbled for their sins, and to mortify their corruptions, 
-and to give up themselves to God, to love and live to him ? And 
do theif not earnestly pray for the divine spirit to assist them so 
to do ? How can they then be disposed^ at the same time, to make 
such mighty resistance. 

Ans. (1.) Awakened sinners see themselves in great danger, 
and they therefore earnestly desire and seek after self-preserva- 
tion ; and this is plainly owing to nature, and not to any grace 
or goodness in their hearts. Psalm lxvi. 3. ..Through the great- 
ness of thy power, thine enemies submit themselves unto thee ; i. e. 
they feign a submission, but they are thine enemies. — (2.) That 
which moves them to desire to repent, be humbled, &c. is, they 
hope by these means to make amends for their past sins, and 
ingratiate themselves into the favor of God.. ..Rom. x. 3. ; i. e. 
merely from self-love, with pure hypocrisy, they would impose 
upon God : For (3.) after all their pretences, desires, and pray- 
ers, their nature and temper is just what it used to be ; and 
were they but delivered from the fears of hell, and left at full 
liberty to follow their own inclinations, they would live as vi- 
tiously as ever they did. — (4.) Yet they pretend to love God, 
and would fain have him believe them sincere, and are ready to 
expect acceptance for what they do, and to think it hard if God 
should not accept them. Now, if it was the work of the spirit 
of God, to buildup such a sinner in this hypocritical, self-right- 
eous way, he might be disposed, while under his fears and ter- 
rors, to concur and fall in with the spirit's influence j and all 
merely from self-love and for self-ends : But if the spirit of God 
goes about to bring home the law in its strictn-ess, and shew such 
a sinner the very truth, that he does not love God, nor desire 
to.... that his desires, and prayers, and tears, are all hypocritical.... 
that he is still dead in sin, and an enemy to God. ...that he de- 
serves to be damned as much as ever he did. ...that God is at 
liberty, all his duties notwithstanding, to reject him. ...that he 
Ilea absolutely at God's mercy ; now he will hate the light, shut 
his eyes against it, quarrel at it, and resist it with ail his might. 



190 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

It is exceedingly hard for the poor sinner, when he begins to be 
awakened, to part with a vain life, and vain companions.... his 
carnal ease and comfort, and all vicious courses — to make resti- 
tution to those he has wronged in name or estate, and givehiirw 
self to reading, meditation, and prayer, and to a serious, morti- 
fying way of living : he cannot bear the thoughts — would fain 
contrive an easier way, or else delay, for the present, so mourn- 
ful and tedious a work : But when, by the dreadful fears of 
hell and eternal damnation, he has been brought, after much re- 
luctance and unwillingness, to a forced consent to all this, ho- 
ping thereby to appease the divine wrath and procure the divine 
favor — now, to have all his self-righteous hopes dashed and 
confounded, by a sight of the badness of his heart, by seeing he 
has no love to God.. ..no sorrow for sin. ...no inclination to be 
holy, but averse to God and all that is good, and that all his for- 
ced goodness has no virtue in it.. ..that he is yet under the whole 
guilt of all his sin.... under condemnation of the law and the wrath 
of God.. ..dead in sin.. ..an enemy to God. ...absolutely at God's 
mercy ; — this, this, I say, is dreadful indeed, and far more cross 
to the very grain of the sinner's heart than all he ever met with 
before. Here, therefore, there w T ill be the greatest struggle, 
and strongest resistance, before ever the sinner can, by the spir- 
it of God, be brought clearly to see and give into these things ; 
for all these things are directly cross to the sinner's disposition 
to love himself supremely, and live to himself ultimately — di- 
rectly cross to a spirit of self-supremacy and independence. — 
The sinner cannot bear that God should be so great and so 
sovereign, and himself so vile.... so little... so absolutely at mercy : 
it is a killing thing. When the commandment came, sin revi- 
ved, and I died : So that it is plain, that, notwithstanding all 
the awakened sinner's selfish desires and prayers, yet, in the 
habitual temper of his heart, he stands disposed to resist 
the influences of the divine spirit with all his might. He is 
so far from being willing to repent of his sins, that he is ut- 
terlv unwillling to see and own his sinfulness — so far from 
desiring to be humbled, that he is by no means willing to r - 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 191 

the cause and reason he has to be humbled— so far from desi- 
ring to be made spiritually alive, that he will not so much as own 
that he is spiritually dead—so far from desiring the gracious 
influences of the holy spirit to reconcile him to God, that he will 
not own that he is an enemy to God.. .but would fain think that 
he heartily desires to love God, and stands ready to hate and 
resist that light, which would discover the enmity of his heart. 
He that doth evil, hateth the light, and flees from it, lest his evil 
deeds be discovered ; and, for the same reason, he that hath an 
evil heart hates the light and resists it, lest the badness of his 
heart be discovered, 

7. From all that has been said, we may learn that those iri-\ 
.■ices of the spirit, which will be sufficient effectually to awa- 
ken, convince, and humble the sinner, and recover him to God, 
must be irresistible and supernatural. That the internal influ- 
ences of the holy spirit are necessary to recover sinners to God, 
is so plainly held forth every where in the Bible, that the Ar~ 
viinians themselves do not deny it : But how much, and what 
kind of influences are needful, is very much disputed. Now so 
much, and such sort of influences are, beyond dispute, 7ieedful, 
as will be sufficient effectually to ansxver the end, and without 
which no sinner will ever be converted : This is self-evident. 
If sinners were so good-natured as to see, and feel, and own 
their sinfulness, and the justice of the sentence whereby they 
stand condemned, and die to themselves, the world and sin, 
and return home to God, through Jesus Christ. ...to love him, 
live to him, and delight in him forever, of their own accord, 
merely upon reading the Bible, and hearing the law and the 
gospel preached, then there would be no need of any inward 
influences of the spirit at all ; or, if they were so good-natured 
a<- to be easily persuaded to do so, then some small decree of the 
inward influences of the spirit would do : But if, in the first 
place, they* are altogether unwilling to see, and feel, and own 
their sin and guilt, and the justice of their condemnation accor- 
ding to law, and entirely disposed to hate and resist the light, 
*s hath but just now been proved, then they musi brought 

B B 



192 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

to it by an all-conquering, irresistible grace, or not at all : And 
if, in the second place, the clearest sight and greatest sense a nat- 
ural man can have of what God is, instead of making him appear 
infinitely glorious and amiable in the eyes of one whose heart 
is dead in sin, and diametrically opposite to the divine nature, 
will rather irritate corruption, and make the native enmity of 
the heart ferment and rage, and become but the more apparent 
and sensible, as has been heretofore proved, then there must 
be a supernatural, spiritual, and divine change wrought in the 
heart, by the immediate influences of the spirit of God, whereby 
it shall become natural to look upon God as infinitely glorious 
and amiable in being what he is, and so a foundation hereby 
laid for us to love him with all our hearts, and so sincerely to 
repent, return, and give up ourselves to him, to live to him, and 
delight in him forever ;— I say, if these things be so^ there must 
be such a change wrought by the spirit of God, or not one sin- 
ner in the world will ever be converted to God : and, therefore, 
that there is an absolute necessity of such influences of the spirit 
of God, in order to a saving conversion, is evident, to a demon- 
stration, from the very reason and nature of things. God him- 
self must take azvay the heart of stone, and give an heart of fesh, 
and write his lazv on our hearts. ... raise us from the dead*. ..create 
us anezv....ope?i our eyes, &c. &c. according to the language of 
scripture : And these things God does do for all that are re- 
newed, and therefore they are said to be born of God.. ..to be born 
of the spirit. ...to be sprritual. ...to be made partakers of the divine na- 
ture, &g. and God is said to give faith, repentance, and every di- 
vine gracc.jEz^. xxxvi. 26 — Heb. viii. 10 — Eph. ii. 1 — 10 — I. 
Cor. iv. 6 — John i. 13, and iii. 6—- Rom. viii. 6, 9 — II. Pet. i. 
4 — Acts v. 31 — James i. 17. 

8. From what has been said, we may learn to understand the 
doctrine of divine sovereignty in the bestowment of special grace 
for the regeneration and conversion of sinners. The scripture 
represents God as choosing some before the foundation of the 
worlds to be holy audio be his childre?i....'Eiph. i. 4, 5 — and teaches 
us that zuhom he did predestinate) them he also calls. ...and whom 

4$ 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 193 

he calls, them he also justifies. ..and zuhom he justifies, them he aho 
glorifies. ...Rom. viii. SO — and plainly intimates that such as are 
ghen to Christy and ordained to eternal life, believe^ and none oth- 
er. ...John vi. 37, 39 — Acts xiii. 48 — Rom. xi. 7 : And the 
scriptures teach us that God has mercy on xvhom he xvill have 
mercy, and compassion onwhomhewill have compassion.. ..'Rom. 
ix. 18 — and that, for the most part, he passes by the rich, and 
great, and honorable, and chooses the meanest and most ignoble, 
that no flesh might glory in his presence... .1. Cor. i. 26 — 29 : 
He hides the gospel from the wise and prudent, and reveals it to 
babes ; and that because it pleases him so to do, and Christ rejoices 
in his sovereign pleasure herein, as displaying his infinite wis- 
dom.... ilfo?. xi. 25, 26. 

And now what has been said may show us the infinite rea- 
sonableness of such a procedure : For God, whose eyes run to 
and fro through all the earth, seeing all things as being what 
they are, plainly beholds and views the state and temper of this 
apostate world ; and let men pretend what they will, he knows 
their hearts — he know r s they do not love him, nor care for him 
— he sees all their hypocrisy, and their inward contrariety to 
him and his law, and how much they are settled in their tem- 
per.. ..so far from repentance, that they will not so much as ^e 
their sin, but stand to justify themselves, insensible of their 
guilt, and insensible of their desert, hating the light : He sees 
they hate to perceive their sin, and guilt, and desert, and to be 
humbled, and lie down at his foot, and be absolutely beholden 
to him ; and that they would make the utmost resistance if he 
should take them in hand, and go about thoroughly to convince 
them, by his spirit, how things really are : Thus he views his 
apostate, rebellious creatures, and sees how sinful... .how dead 
in sin. ...how contrary to all good v and how irreclaimable they 
are, and, upon the whole, how much they deserve eternal dam- 
nation. In the clays of eternity, he saw just how things would 
be, beforehand ; and now, in time, he sees just how tilings actu- 
ally are : In the days of eternity, therefore, he saw that theti 
would not be any thing in them to move him to h - y on 



194 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

any ; and now, in time, he finds it t<5 be the case : and yet he 
was pleased, then, of his mere sovereign pleasure, to determine 
not to cast off all, but to save some— so, now, he is pleased to put 
his sovereign pleasure in execution ; and he has mercy on 
whom he will have mercy, and compassion on whom he will 
have compassion^ and many times takes the meanest and vile st, 
that the sovereignty of his grace might be the more illustrious, 
and the pride of all flesh might be brought low, and the Lord 
alone be exalted : And surely such a conduct infinitely well be- 
comes the supreme Governor of the whole world. 

Indeed, if any of Adam's race were so well disposed, as, of 
their own accord, merely upon reading the Bible, hearing the 
gospel preached, and enjoying the common means of grace, to 
believe and repent, and to return home to God through Jesus 
Christ, they might be accepted, pardoned, and saved; nor would 
there be any room for, or need of sovereign grace : But God, 
who knows the hearts of all, sees that all the pretences of sinners, 
that way, are but mere hypocrisy, and that, at heart, they are his 
enemies, and utterly opposed to a return. Or if there was any 
virtue to be found among any of the fallen race of Adam, ante- 
cedent to God's grace, this might move him to have mercy upon 
one, rather than another : But he sees that all are entirely desti- 
tute of love to him, and entirely at enmity against him, wholly 
void of real goodness, and dead in sin, and that the only reason 
why some are not so outwardly extravagant and vicious as others, 
is, because he has, by one means and another, restrained them> 
and not because they are really better* And while God thus be- 
holds all alike dead in sin, and, in the temper of their hearts, by 
nature, equally averse to a return to him, and views all as guilty 
and hell-deserving, there is nothings.. there can be nothing, to 
move him to determine to show mercy to one, rather than anoth- 
er, but his own good pleasure ; and therefore he has mercy on 
whom he will have mercy : he awakens, convinces, humbles, 
converts whom he pleases, and leaves the rest to follow their own 
inclinations, and take their own course, enduring, with much 
loiig-snjfering, the vessels ofxvratlu 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUN TERFEITS. 195 

Let it be here noted, that many of those warm disputes about 
the doctrine of divine sovereignty, which have filled the chris- 
tian world, turn very much upon this point. All are agreed, 
that whosoever believes* repents, and returns to God, through 
Jesus Christ, shall be saved : All will, therefore, yield that if 
mankind, in general, were so well disposed as to return to God, 
through Jesus Christ, of their own accord, upon the calls and 
invitations of the gospel, and only by the influence and help of 
those advantages which are common, then all might be saved j 
nor would there be any need of, or room for, this sovereign, 

tinguishing grace : But if mankind have none of this dispo- 
sition, but are even* way diametrically opposite thereto — if all 
the calls of the gospel, and common means and methods of 
grace will have no effectual influence upon them— if nothi 
an almighty, all-conquering grace can stop them in their course 
of rebellion, subdue their lusts, and recover them to God ; — if 
this be the case of all mankind, then it is plain that nothing but 
die mere mercy of God can interpose and prevent an universal 
ruin ; And it is plain that the sovereign Governor of the whole 
world is, in the nature of things, at most perfect liberty to shew 
this mercy to none, or to some few, or to all, just as it seems 
good in his sight : And since, from eternity, he foresaw just 
how things would be, from eternity he might determine what 
to do : So that the greet* question is, Whether mankind are 
naturally so entirely averse to a true conversion ? For if they 
are, the reasonableness of the divine sovereignty must be ad- 
mitted in this case \ and if they are not, none will any longer 
plead for it : And what the natural opposition of mankind to 
conversion is, may be easily seen, if we consider what the true 
nature of conversion is, and compare their temper herewith : 
And what the true nature of conversion is, may be easily known 
by considering the true nature of the moral law : — In a word, if 
the law does only require what the Ann'niians and Pelagic 
suppose, and religion be just such a thing, it is a plain case that 
mankind are not so bad, nor do they need such an irresistible 

ce : But if the law requires quite another sort cf holiness^ 



196 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

and so true religion be quite another sort of thing, even such as 
I have described, which lies so diametrically opposite to the nat- 
ural bent and bias of our whole souls, it is a clear case 
that grace must be irresistible, and can proceed from noth- 
ing but mere free mercy, nor result from anything but the sove- 
reign pleasure of the most High : So that, in short, the whole 
dispute is resolved into this question — What does the law of 
God require, and wherein does a genuine conformity thereto 
consist ? But of this more afterwards. 

And from what has been said, we may easily gather a plain 
and short answer to all the mighty cry about promises, promi- 
ses to the unconverted, if they will do as well as they can ; for it 
is plain, heaven's gates stand wide open to all that believe and 
repent, and return to God, through Jesus Christ. „.John iii. 16 : 
and it is plain, the wrath of God is revealed against all who do 
not do this... John iii. 36 : and it is plain that there is nothing but 
the want of a good temper, together with the obstinate perverse- 
ness of sinners, that hinders their return to God ; and that, there- 
fore, all their presences of being willing to do as well as they can;, 
are mere hypocrisy. They are so unwilling to return to God, 
or take one step that way, that they can be brought back by 
nothing short of an almighty power ; and are sa far, therefore^ 
from being entitled to the promises of the gospel, that they are 
actually, and that deservedly too, under condemnation by the 
gospel, (John iii, 18) and under all the curses of the law...Gtf/. 
iii. 10. " Take heed, therefore, O sinner, thou enemy of God, 
u when you pretend that you desire to repent and do as well as 
" you can, that you be not found quieting yourself in a state of 
" estrangement from God, hiding your natural aversion to God 
u and holiness under fair pretences : And know it, if you do, 
u though you may deceive yourself by the means, yet it will ap- 
M pear, another day, before all worlds, and it will be known that 
44 you were an enemy to God, and would not be reconciled, and 
4< did but natter him with your lips, and lie unto him with your 
u tongue, in all your seemingly devout pretences. You think 
M yourself good enough to have an interest in the promises, but 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 197 

H infinite goodness judges you deserve to be numbered among 

9 the children of wrath and heirs of hell John iii. IS, 36. — 

u Your high conceit of your own goodness is the foundation of 
u all your confidence, and both join to keep you secure in sin 
u and under guilt, and insensible of your need of Christ and 
M sovereign grace.. ..Luke v. 31 — Rom. x. 3." Did sinners but 
see the badness of their hearts, they would be soon convinced 
that the promises are not theirs, but the threatenings ^ and 
would feel and know that they have no claims to make, but lie 
absolutely at mercy.... Luke xviii. 13* 

9. And if it is nothing but the mere grace and sovereign good 
pleasure of God, which moves him to s op sinners in their ca- 
reer to hell, and by his irresistible and all-conquering grace, 
and by the supernatural influences of his holy spirit, sub- 
due their stubbornness, take down the power of sin in their 
hearts, and recover them to himself : and if he does this 
for them, when they are at enmity against him, and are his open 
enemies by wicked works, and so are altogether deserving his 
wrath and vengeance ; — I say, if this be the case, there is all 
reason to think, that he, xvho thus begins, will carry on the work 
to perfection. He knew how bad the sinner was when he first 
took him in hand.. ..how he hated to be converted, and how he 
would resist, and that his own almighty arm must bring salva- 
tion ; and yet this did not discourage his first undertaking : 
And he knew how the sinner would prove after conversion.... 
just how barren and unfruitful. ...just how perverse and rebel- 
lious, and just how apt to forget God and turn away from him, 
and that his own almighty grace must always be working in him 
to w T ill and to do. ...Phi/, ii. 13. He knew all the discouraging 
circumstances before-hand, and his infinite goodness cui mount- 
ed them all — and he had mercy on the poor sinner, because he 
would have mercy on him, of his mere good pleasure, from 
his boundless grace, aiming at the glory of his own jrn.at name 
....Eph. i. 6. And now, this being the case, we have all reason 
to think that God will never alter his hand, or leave unfinished 
the work which he hus begun ; for thtre alv/aj ! >e the same 



198 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

motive from "which he undertook the work, to excite him to car- 
ry it on — ^e ven the infinite goodness of his nature ; and he will be 
always under the same advantages to answer the end he at first 
proposed, namely, the advancement of the glory of his grace : 
And he will never meet with any unforeseen difficulties or dis- 
couragements in his way. We may, therefore, be pretty cer- 
tain, if really God begins this work, under such views and such 
circumstances, that it is with design to carry it on ; — as Samuel 
reasons in a parallel case : — I. Sam. xii. 22, ...For the Lord will 
not forsake his people for his great na?ne J s sake ; because it hath 
pleased the Lord to make you his people : So that if the doctrine 
of the saints' perseverance were not expressly taught in scrip- 
ture, yet, on this ground, we might argue very strongly for it : 
But that this is a doctrine plainly revealed in the gospel, we may 
learn from Mat. xiii. 23~John iv. 14, and x. 4, 5, 27, 28 — I. 
John iii. 6, 9~*-Heb. viii, 10, &c. &c. When St. Paul kept 
under his body, and brought it into subjection, lest he should 
be a cast-away, (I. Cor. ix. 27.) he did no otherwise than he 
was wont to do in temporal concerns, in cases wherein he was, 
beforehand, certain of the event : So he sent word to the chief 
Captain, of the Jervs lying in wait to kill him, lest he should be 
murdered by them ; although it was revealed to him from God, 

but the very night before, that he should live to see Rome 

Acts xxiii. 12-^21 : So he would not allow the sailors to leave 
the ship in the midst of the storm, lest they should some of them 
be drovmed for want of their help ; although, but a little before, 
it was revealed to him from God that not one of them should be 
drowned., .. Acts xxvii. 23- — 31. And, indeed, it was his duty 
to do as he did, as much as if he had been at the greatest un- 
certainties about the event : So, although Paul knew that never 
any thing should separate him from the love of God, (Rom. viii. 
38.) — yet he used all possible endeavors to mortify his corrup- 
tions, lest he should be a cast-away : And, indeed, it was his 
duty to do so, as much as if he had been at the greatest uncer- 
tainties about the event : And what was his duty, was also the 
duty of all good men ; and therefore St. Paul, in his epistles, 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 199 

frequently exhorting all to do as he did ; and that in a perfect 
consistency with the doctrine of the saints' perseverance, which 
he also teaches : And as Paul's being certain of the event did 
not tend to make him careless in the use of proper means to 
save his natural life, but rather tended to encourage and ani- 
mate him, as knowing that he should finally succeed — so his be- 
ing certain of the event did not tend to make him careless, but 
to animate him, with respect to his spiritual and eternal life : 
Andas it was with him, so it is with all good men.. ..Rom. vi. 2 : 
For this is always the case, that certainty of success animates 
men, if the thing they are about be what they love, and what 
their hearts are engaged in ; but to die to themselves, the world 
and sin, and love God, and live to him, and grow up into per- 
fect holiness, is what all believers love, and have their hearts en- 
gaged after ; an absolute certainty, therefore, of perseverance 
has, in the nature of things, the greatest tendency to animate 
them to the most sprightly activity. There are none but grace- 
less hypocrites that take encouragement from the doctrines of 
free grace to carelessness and sin.. ..Rom. vi. 1, 2. 

10. If this be the nature of a saving conversion — if this be 
the nature of true holiness — if this be true religion, so contrary 
to flesh and blood, and all the habitual propensities of nature, 
then, so long as there is the least corruption left in the heart, there 
will, of necessity, be a continual conflict : Grace will continually 
seek the ruin of sin, through its contrariety to it, and hatred of 
it ; and sin will strive to maintain its ground — yea, and to re- 
gain its former dominion. The gracious nature delights in the 
law of God, and aspires after sinless perfection — the sinful na- 
ture hates the law of God, and strives to lead the man captive 
into sin : The gracious nature is a disposition to love God su- 
premely, live to him ultimately, and delight in him superlative- 
ly ; and this sinful nature is a disposition to love self supreme- 
ly, live to self ultimately, and delight in that which is not God 
wholly : and because these two are contrary the one to the oth- 
er, therefore the flesh zvill lust against the spirit, and the spirty 

against the flesh. ...Gal. v. 17. The gracious nature joins in on 

C c 



200 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

God's side against all sin ; and while God works in the man to 
-will and to do, he works out his own salvation xvith fear and trem- 
bling.... with caution and circumspection-... with watchfulness 
and holy concern — laboring to die to himself, the world and sin, 
and be wholly the Lord's.... Phil. ii. 12, 13. While the divine 
spirit is breathing upon his heart, and realising to him the be- 
ing and perfections of God.. ..the existence and importance of 
divine and eternal things, and is spreading divine light ever his 
soul, and is banishing selfish and worldly views, and i3 drawing 
his soul to holy and divine contemplations, he feels the divine 
influence.. ..he blesses the Lord. ...he summons all within him 
to engagedness....he pants after God: — " O that I might know 
" him — that I might see him in his infinite glory ! (Psalm lxiii. 
1, 2.)....0 God \ thou art my God, early will I seek thee — my 
soul thirst eth for thee — my flesh longethfor thee, in a dry and 
thirsty land, xvhere no water is.... To see thy power and glory, 

"so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. (Verse 8.) My 

" soul folloxveth hard after thee. (Psalm lxxiii. 25.).... Whom 
" have I in heaven but thee ? And there is none upon earth I de- 
" sire besides thee. O that I could, with my whole heart, love 
" thee forever, live to thee forever, live upon thee forever, and 
" never, never, depart from thee ! O that I could think for thee, 
" and speak for thee, and act for thee — at home and abroad, 
" by day and by night, always live to thee, and upon thee ! — 
" Here, Lord, I give myself to thee, to be forever thine.. ..to love 
" thee and to fear thee, and to walk in all thy ways, and to keep 
" all thy commands ; and O that my heart might never depart 
w from thee ! But alas, alas, to will is present xvith ???e....tohave 
" a disposition to all this, and long for all this, and seek and 
" strive for all this, is easy and natural, for I delight in the laxv 
44 of God after the inxvard man ; but hoxv to perform I find not — 
" how to get my whole heart so to fall in, as that there shall not 
44 be the least contrary temper, this is quite beyond me, for I 
44 am still carnal, sold under sin. ...have another law in my mem- 
fi bers....\\2Lve still the remains (of the flesh J of my native con- 
* w trariety to God, and disposition to disrelish divine things ; 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 201 

" and so am apt to forget God.... to warp off from him, and to 
" have i and worldly views and designs secretly creep in- 

" to my mind, and steal away my heart from God — and so am 
u dailv led into captivity. O that sin was entirely dead — that a 
iC disposition to disrelish God. ...to forget him... .to go away 
" from him., ..to live without him, and to seek content in that 
-* which is not God, was entirely slain ! 0, wretched man that 
" lam, who shall deliver me /'....Rom. vii. 14 — 24. 

If grace and corruption were not so contrary the one to the 
other....so diametrically opposite, there might possibly be an 

ommodation between them, and both quietly dwell together 
in the same heart ; but now they are set for each odier s ruin, 
and seek each other's destruction — and, like fire and water, will 
never rest till one or die other be entirely destroyed.. ..Gal. v. 17. 

If grace could be wholly killed, or corruption wholly slain, 
then the conflict of believers might wholly cease in this life ; 
but grace is immortal, like a living spring that shall never dry, 
{John iv. 14.) — like a root that will ever grow, (Jfat. xiii. 20 — 
2 3.) and Christ is always purging believers, that they may bring 
fir t!i more fruit, (john xv. 2.) : So that he that is born of God 
cannot sin as others do, (I. John hi. 9.) — cannot sin, but against 
the grain of his heart, the gracious nature continually resisting, 
(Gal. v. 17.) ; so that it is certain, from the nature of things, 
that David and Solomon neither of them felt, in their worst 
frames, as graceless men do. Grace resisted within, (Gal. v. 
IT.) hating their proceedings ; nor did it cease inwardly to 
struggle and torment them, till the one cries out, 2Iy bones wax 
eld through my roaring all the day long.... Psalm lii. 3 : For his 
sin x'jas ever before his eyes. ...Psalm xxxi. 3: And the odier, 
lity of vanities, all Is vanity aud vexation of spirit. ..Eccle. i. 2. 

Mac. stony-ground hearers^ who were once filled with light 
and joy, do, \\ hen their religion is all worn out, and they lie 
de. Mind, and stupid, whole mondis and years together, 

en*, the best are dead sometimes ; and have recourse to David 
and Solomon : and many a hypocrite, whose religion is onl/ 
and pangs, sometimes floated as the streets in summer, 



202 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

by a sudden shower, and then, in a few days, as dry as ever, de« 
ceive themselves here ; and many take natural conscience to 
be a principle of grace, and the war between that and their cor- 
ruptions to be a gracious conflict : But as all counterfeit reli- 
gions are specifically different from the true, as has been alrea- 
dy shown, so, by consequence, their conflict is different from 
that which believers have, in its very nature. They fight, from 
different principles, and for different ends, and about different 
things, and in a different manner, just as their religions differ 
from one another. 

11. If this be the nature of conversion and holiness, and the 
manner wherein they are wrought — and if true religion be thus 
specifically different from all counterfeits, then may believers be 
infallibly certain that they have true grace* A man cannot but 
perceive his own thoughts, and know what views he has, and 
be intuitively acquainted with his own designs and' aims ; so 
every man knows it is with him, as to the things of this world. 
Much less is it possible that there should be so great a change 
in a man's heart and life, thoughts, affections, and actions, as 
there is made by conversion, and yet he know nothing about it. 
For a man to be awakened, out of a state of security in sin, to 
see what a sinful, guilty, helpless, lost, undone state he is in, 
and yet not to perceive any thing of it, evidently implies a con- 
tradiction, and so is, in the nature of things, impossible : For a 
man to be brought to see God in his infinite glory, so as to be 
disposed to love him supremely, live to him ultimately, and de- 
light in him superlatively, and yet not to perceive it, i. e. not to 
be conscious of his views and affections, also implies a contra- 
diction, and so is impossible : For a man to lose his selfish and 
worldly views more and more, from year to year, and die to 
himself, the world and sin — -and for a man to live a life of com- 
munion with God, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord, 
and yet not at all to perceive it, is utterly impossible ; for the 
mind of man is naturally conscious to its own actings : So, 
from the nature of things, it is evident that grace is percepti- 
ble \ yea, in its own nature, it must be as perceptible as corrup- 



BISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 203 

tion....love to God as love to the world.... sorrow for sin as sor- 
row for affliction.... aiming at God's glory as aiming at our own 
honor and interest : But if true grace be, in its own nature, 
perceptible, and if it be also specifically different from all coun- 
terfeits, it is self-evident that a good man may know that he has 
true grace. I cannot see why, extraordinary cases excepted, a 
good man, who lives a life of communion with and devotedness 
to God ? and in the daily exercise of every grace, may not come 
to know that he has grace. Surely he must be conscious to 
the actings of his own mind ; for this is natural : And surely 
he may see the difference between his religion and all counter- 
feits, when the difference is so great and plain : so that, if the 
scriptures did not expressly teach us that assurance is attainable, 
it is yet evidently demonstrable from the nature of things. 

But the scriptures do plainly teach this doctrine, in II. Pet. I. 
10 — I. John v. 13 — I. John ii. 3, and iii. 14, &c. &c. — Besides, 
all those promises, that are made for the comfort and support 
of God's people in this world," suppose that they may know that 
they are the people of God : for, unless a man knows that he is 
a child of God, he cannot rationally take comfort in those prom- 
ises which are peculiar to such. It is true, brazen hypocrites 
will do so, but they act very presumptuously. It is folly and 
madness for me to flatter myself that God has promised to do 
so and so for me, unless I know that I am one to whom the prom- 
ises belong : For instance, it is folly and madness forme to be- 
lieve that God will make all things work together for my good y 
according to that promise in Rom. viii. 28, unless I know that / 
love Cod; for this promise plainly respects such, and no other : 
But there are very many precious promises made to believers 
in the word of God, which are evidently designed for their com- 
fort and support. It is certain, therefore, that God thinks that 
believers may know they are such — without which knov, 
all these promises cannot attain their end. 

Besides, to suppose that to be a servant of God, and a ser- 
vant ol the devil. ...to be going the way to heaven, and the way 
to hell. ...to be travelling in the narrow way, and to be travelling 



204 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

in the broad way, are so near alike, as that even good men them- 
selves cannot possibly know them asunder, and which way they 
afe going, is, on every account, intolerably absurd ; nor could 
the christian world have possibly drunk in such a notion 
but that true grace is so very rare a thing. 

I may here, by the wav, just observe these three things : — 1. 
That the way for a man to know that he has grace, is not to try 
himself by fallible signs, but intuitively to look into himself and see 
grace. A thousand signs of grace will not prove that a man 
has grace. There is no sign of grace to be depended upon, but 
grace itself ; for every thing but grace a hypocrite may have ; 
And what grace, holiness, or true religion is, I have already en- 
deavored to show. — 2. That thexvay for a man to know that he 
Mas grace, is not to judge himself by the degree and measure of his 
religious frames and affections, or the height of his attainments ; 
but by the special nature of them : for as there is not any one 
grace but a hypocrite may have its counterfeit, so hypocrites 
may rise as high in their religion as any true believer does in his. 
Was Elijah, the prophet, jealous for the name and worship of 
the true God, and against false religion?... So was Jehu : and he 
appeared as full of zeal, and more courageous, and did greater 
exploits. There was scarcely a more zealous saint than Elijah, 
in Old-Testament times ; but yet Jehu, that hypocrite, made a 
much greater show and noise — seemed to be fuller of zeal and 
courage, and actually did greater exploits, setting aside the mir- 
acles which God wrought by Elijah, (I. Kings xviii. and xix» 
chap. — II. Kings ix. and x. chap.) And we do not read of one 
saint in all the Bible that fasted in a constant way, twice every 
week, as the Pharisee did, (Luke xviii,) And there is not one 
saint in ail the Bible that ever did, externally and visibly, any 
higher acts of self-denial, than to give all his goods to feed the 
poor, and his body to be burnt ; and yet St. Paul intimates that a 
man may do this, and still have no grace in his heart.. ..I. Cor. 
xiii. 3 : It is no certain evidence, therefore, that a man is a good 
man, because he has a great deal of religion — more than the 
most, and full as much a* the best — yea, more than any in all 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 205 

the country.... yea, or in all the whole world ; for, in Jehu's time, 
there was not perhaps, for a while, one like him upon the face 
of the earth : A man, therefore, cannot know that he is a good 
man, by the degree of his religion, but only from the special na- 
ture of it : And wherein true religion specifically differs from 
all counterfeits, I have already shown. — 3. Since grace is, in its 
own nature, perceptible, and specifically different from all coun- 
terfeits, there is no need of the immediate witness of the. spirit, in 
order to a full assurance. If the spirit of God does but give us 
a good degree of grace, and enlighten our minds to understand 
the scriptures, and so to know the nature of true grace, we may 
then perceive that we have grace ; and the more grace we have, 
the more perceptible will it be, and its difference from all coun- 
terfeits will be the more plain : And if a believer may know and 
be certain that he has grace, without the immediate witness of 
the spirit, then such a witness is altogether needless, and would 
be of no advantage : but God never grants his spirit to believ- 
ers, to do things needless and to no advantage ; and therefore 
there is no such thing as the immediate witness of the spirit in 
this affair : And besides, it is plain the scriptures every -where 
direct us to look into ourselves, to see whether we love God and 
keep his commands — to see whether Christ, in his holy nature, 
be formed in us — to see whether the spirit, as an enlightener 
and sanctifier, dwells in us, and influences and governs us ; but 
never once directs us to look for the immediate witness of the 
spirit, in order to know whether we have grace. 

Obj. But the text says expressly, The spirit itself heareth 
witness with our spirit, that we ure the children of God....2?c;w. 
viii. 16. 

Ans. But the text docs not in the least intimate that the spir- 
it witnesses immediately. The spirit bears witness ; but how? 
The spirit makes it evident that we are the children of God ; 
but in what way i By immediate revelation? No; the scripture 
no where tells us to look for such revelations, or lays down any 
marks whereby we may know which come from God, and 
which from the devil. How then does the spirit make it evU 



206 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

dent that we are the children of God, and by what witness does- 
he make it appear ?...Not by telling us that we are children- — 
the devil may tell hypocrites so ; but by making us children 
in the very temper of our hearts. ...by giving to us much of a child- 
like frame of spirit towards God — a thing the devil cannot do, 
and so a thing by which we may certainly know. This holy, 
divine, child-like frame and temper of heart, whereby we bear 
the very image of our heavenly father, is God's mark, which y 
more or less conspicuously, he sets upon all the lambs of his 
flock. This is the seal of the spirit, (Eph. i. 13.) : For this is 
the earnest of our inheritance, (verse 14.) : It is eternal life be- 
gun in the soul, (John xvii. 3.) This is called the witness of the 
spirit, because it is what the spirit works m our hearts, and that 
by which he makes it evident that we are the children of God — 
the design of witnesses being to make things evident : And, in- 
deed, this is the only distinguishing mark that God puts upon 
his children, and the only thing wherein they differ from all hyp- 
ocrites — and is the only evidence the scripture directs them to 
look for and expect, and without which all other evidences are 
just good for nothing.. ..3fat. vii. 24 — 27 — John xv. 2 — I. 
John iu 3, 4, and iii. 6- — 10. 

And this being the case, we may see how much out of the 
way those are, who think and say that it is a sin for them to doubt 
the goodness of their state, because of their badness, and because 
they can see no grace in their hearts : u For," say they, " that 
u would be to call God's truth and faithfulness into question.... 
u who has, by his spirit, immediately assured me of his love and 
" my salvation — just as if the immutability of his purpose de- 
" pended upon my good frames ; No ; I must do as Abraham 
" did, rvho, against hope, believed in hope ; so, though I see no 
11 grace in my heart, or signs of any, yet I must believe my state 
" is good, and that I shall be saved. It is not my duty to look 
" so much into my own heart — I shall never be the better for 
a that ; but I must look to Christ, and believe, and never doubt : 
" for the spirit of God did, at such a time, assure me of Christ's 
" love to me.. .and I knew I was not deceived.. .and it would now 



DISTINGUISHED FP.OM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 207 

" be a great sin in me to doubt — it would be giving the lie to 
44 Christ and to the holy spirit." 

How sad a delusion are such poor sinners under, who dare 
not believe the holy scriptures, for fear they shall sin, which ev- 
ery where assure us, that unless we are holy in heart and life, 
our faith is vain, and we in a state of condemnation ; and teach 
us that we ought to be no more confident of our good state, than 
in proportion as our sanctification is evident ! How sad it is that 
they should attribute all their doubts to carnal reason or the de- 
vil, which, indeed, are but the secret dictates of their own con- 
sciences, and are so agreeable to the word of God ! What a 
dreadful spirit is this that thus leads them off from the word of 
God, and so blinds their minds that they cannot understand 
it, nor dare believe it ! Surely it can be no other than Satan 
transformed into an angel of light. * 

* Ob j. But the scripture forbids doubting. Mat. xiv. 31. ...O thou of little 
faith, wherefore didst thou doubt ? 

Ans. In that text, Christ does not blame Peter for doubting his state, 
but for doubting he should be drowned. 

Obj. But Christ upbraided them with their unbelief.... Mark xvi. 14. 

Ans. He did not blame them for not believing they were in a good state, 
but for not believing that he was risen from the dead. 

Obj. But Abraham is commended, in that against hope he believed in 
hope....i?om. iv. 18. 

Ans. But the thing to be believed, and hoped for, was, that he should 
have a son, which he had good grounds to expect : So this is nothing to 
the purpose. 

Obj. But St. Paul says, we walk by faith, and not by sight....II. Cor. v. 7. 

Ans. That is, in all their conduct, they were governed by a realizing be- 
lief of unseen things, and not by things seen and temporal.... II. Cor. iv. 18. 
It was not Paul's way to lie dead whole months and years together, ncr 
was he ever driven to such a strait, as to be forced to believe himself to be 
in a good state, without sufficient evidence. 

Obj. But, what is not of faith, is sin....i?om. xiv. 23. But doubts arise 
from unbelief. 

Ans. 1. If any man does not believe that it is lawful for him to do some 
particular act, and yet ventures to do it, he sins — he acts against his own 
conscience : This is the plain sense of the text, and so this text is nothing 
to the purpose. 

2. An hypocrite's doubts are wont to arise from unbelief, i. e. from his 
not stedfastly believing the immediate revelations which he had from the 
devil, that bitritu are pardoned. The devil tries to keep him quiet, but 
sometimes his conscience is a little awakened, and then he fears and doubts 
he is deluded ; and now the deviltries to make him believe that it is a sin 
to doubt. The devil would fain make him believe all is well, i. e. believe 
at a venture, without a thorough search and trial, and without sufficient 
evidence. 3. It is 

D D 



203 THUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

Alas ! alas ! How does the God of this world blind the minds 
of them that believe not ! Some firmly believe that there is no 
such thing as a good man's knowing that he has grace ; and so 
they contentedly live along, not knowing what world they are 
hastening unto....to heaven or to hell ; but they hope their state 
is good, and hope their hope is well grounded, but know not but 
that their hope is that of the hypocrite : Yea, they are not wil- 
ling to believe there is any such thing as knowing, for that would 
make them suspect that they are wrong, and that true religion 
is something they never had ; which, if it be the case, yet they 
are not willing to know it. They hide themselves in the dark ! 
They say, There is no light ! And will not believe that a good 
man may know that he has passed from death to hfe: While 
ethers, from the very same principle, viz, because they hate the 
light, firmly believe that it is a sin to doubt; and so will never, 
dare never, call their state into question, and thoroughly look 
through the matter : both are equally rotten at heart, and so 
equally hate the light, although they take different methods to 
keep from it ; and the devil does his utmost to keep both fast 
bound where they are, 

3. It is a sin for a true believer to live so as not to "have his evidences 
clear ^ but it is no sin for him to be so honest and impartial, as to doubt, 
when, in fact, his evidences are not clear : It is a sin to darken his eviden- 
ces ; but it is no sin to see that they are darkened : It is a sin fcr a man, 
by rioting and drunkenness, to make himself sick ; but it is no sin to feel 
that he is sick ; or, if there be grounds for it, to doubt he shall die. We 
may bring calamities upon ourselves by oursms, both outward and inward, 
and our calamities may arise from our sins ; and yet our calamities have 
not the nature of sins, but are rather of the nature of punishments. It is sin, 
in believers, which lays the foundation for doubts : it is sin which is the 
occasion of their doubts ; but their doubts are not sins any the more for- 
tius . Some seem to suppose that every thing which is occasioned by sin, 
is sin ; but there is no truth in their supposition. It is not a sin for un- 
converted people to think themselves to be unconverted ; and yet that 
thought of themselves is occasioned by sin — for their being unconverted is 
their sin. 

Ob j. But believers are exhorted to hold fast their confidence.... Heb. hi. 6. 
And it is said, verse 14. ...For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold 
the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end. 

Ans. That is, their confidence that ^esus is the Christ, together with a. 
true faith in him, as is manifest from the whole context. Nor is any thing 
more absurd than to say, that men shall be made partakers of Christ, if they 
hold fast their confidence of their good state, which is what many a hypo*- 
crjte does, aad that to the very Ian.... Mat. vii. 22 — Luke siii. 25, 26, 27. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 209 

Happy the true believer, who is made impartial by divine 
grace ! It is a recovery to God and holiness that he is after : 
a confidence that his sins are pardoned, without this, would be 
but a poor thing. If he obtains this, he gets what he wants ; 
and if not, he feels himself undone : nor can he flatter himself 
that he has obtained it, when he has not : And this he makes 
his only evidence of God's eternal love, and of his title to eter- 
-iorv ; and believes his state to be good, no farther than this 
goes Vat, vii. 21 — 27. 

Thus I have gone through the Jirst use, the use of instruc- 

: : and thus we see how a right understanding of the law 
will set many of the important doctrines of religion in a clear 
and easv — in a scriptural and rational light. By the law we may 
learn the primitive state of man, and how low we are fallen, and 
to what we must be recovered — and so, by consequence, how 
averse we are to a recovery.. ..what grace we need to recover 
us — and so, by consequence, that we must be saved by sovereign 
grace, or not at all : whence the reasonableness of the saints' per- 
severance appears ; and, from the whole, the nature of the chris- 
tian conflict and the attainableness of assurance are discover- 
ed. — And I will conclude this use with two remarks : 

Remark 1. If the law requires what, I think, I have proved it 
does, and a conformity to it consists in what I have before descri- 
bed, then all the other particulars do necessarily and most in- 
evitably follow : Such was the image of God in which Adam 
was created, and such is our natural depravity, and such are the 
best duties of the unregenerate, and such is the nature of conver- 
sion, and our aversion to it, &c. ; so that, if my first principles are 
true, then the whole scheme is, beyond dispute, true also. — And 
what are my first principles ?.. ..Why, that to love God with all 
our hearts, and our neighbors as ourselves, is originally the ve- 
ry essence of religion ; and that the grounds upon which God 
requires us so to do, are to be the motives of our obedience. 
He requires us to love him supremely, Sec. because he is su- 
premely glorious and amiable, and because our additional obli- 
gations to him are what they are : He requires us to love our 



210 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

neighbors as ourselves, because they are what they are, an< 
stand in such relations to us. With a perfect moral rectitude 
of temper, influenced and governed by truth — by the reason and 
fitness of things, he would have us love and glorify him as God, 
i* e. as being what he is ; and love and treat our neighbors as 
being what they are : And is not this evidently the meaning of 
the divine law f 

Remark 2* If the law, as a rule of life, be so abated and al- 
tered, as that now it only requires us, merely from a principle 
of self-love and for self-ends, sincerely to endeavor to love God 
and keep his commands, and aim at his glory — and if the law, 
as a covenant, be disannulled, and such an obedience be substi- 
tuted in the room of perfection, as a condition of eternal life, or 
as a condition of our interest in Christ, then the contrary to all 
that I have laid down is most true and certain : For let the pri- 
mitive state of man be what it would, it is plain we are not en- 
tirely destitute of a conformity to this new law^ much less dia- 
metrically opposite to it in the natural temper of our minds. ...nor 
are our best duties, while unregenerate, sin ; it is plain, con- 
version is another and a much easier thing, and that we are not 
so entirely averse to it, and do not need irresistible grace, nor 
lie at God's sovereign mercy, ike* All these things, and many 
more such-like, are plain, if the good oldlaxv is thus altered and 
abated, and thus disannulled — if the new law requires no more, 
and this be the condition of eternal life, or of an interest in 
Christ : So that, if any are disposed to disbelieve what have 
been laid down as consequences, and to build upon another fa- 
bric — if they will be consistent with themselves, they can lay 
no other foundation than this, viz. To destroy the law ; which 
I have before proved to be as impossible as to destroy the na- 
ture of God ; because the moral law necessarily results from 
the divine perfections, and our obligations to conform to it are 
infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, as the nature and perfections 
of God himself. 

And, therefore, I think, we may conclude, with the greatest 
certainty, that this foundation, viz. that the law is thus abated 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 211 

and altered, is but sand ; and that the fabric built upon it will not 
stand. If the law had required us to love ourselves supreme- 
ly, and live to ourselves ultimately, and to have endeavored to 
love God and our neighbors only to answer our own ends — 
then this sort of religion would have been right — Did I say 
right P No ; it would not be right, being unalterably contrary 
to the very reason and nature of things ; nor could such a law 
have been possibly made by a God, who loves righteousness, and 
hates iniquity : But if this was right — if this was religion, it is 
plain mankind have the root of the matter in them ; for they are 
all naturally inclined to love themselves supremely, and live to 
themselves ultimately ; and so would not need to be born again, 
to have a new nature — the old nature would be sufficient ; they 
would only need to be convinced that it is for their interest to 
endeavor to love God and do their duty, and merely, self-love 
would make them religious, in order to answer their own ends : 
But if the law never has been thus abated and altered, then this 
religion is really no religion at all — nothing but mere hypocri- 
sy, and of a nature diametrically opposite to true holiness. On- 
ly let it be clearly determined xvhat the nature of the moral law 
is y and there will be a final end put to a hundred controversies. 
Here is a man, he reforms his life a little, and joins with the 
church — he prays in his family, and sometimes in his closet — 
and, for the most part, it may be, he is honest in his dealings, 
an^l civil and sober in his behavior ; and this is his conversion 
....this is his religion : And now he pleads that conversion is a 
gradual thing, because his was such — and that a man cannot 
know when he was converted, because that is the case with him 
— that there is no need of irresistible grace, because he knows 
that it is a pretty easy thing to convert as he has done — and he 
hates the doctrine of divine sovereignty, because he never felt 
any need of a sovereign grace to save him — and he holds fall- 
ing from grace, because his religion is as easily lost as gotten : 
But does he know that he has any grace, after all ? No, no, that 
is a thing (says he) none can know : He believes the holy spir- 
it assists him ; but he is not sensible of his influences, or of any 



212 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

help from him, any more than if he had none : He believes he 
loves God, and is a true saint at heart ; but he does not feel any 
more love to God, or grace in his heart, than if there was none 
there- — and the reason is, because there is none : But being se- 
cure in sin, and it being for his wordly interest to make a pro- 
fession of religion, he now sets up for a good man : For xvith- 
out the lazv sin is dead, and so he is alive without the law..*„ 
Rom. vii. 8, 9, And now those doctrines and that preaching 
which are calculated to detect his hypocrisy, and awaken him out 
of his security,-, he hates and cries out against: And if any seem 
to experience any thing further in religion than he has, for that 
very reason he condemns it all for delusion : But he pretends 
mightily to plead up for morality and good works, though, in 
truth, he is an enemy to all real holiness. This is the course 
of many ; but some are more sincere, and strict, and conscien- 
tious in their way* 

But let men be ever so sincere, strict, and conscientious in 
their religion, if all results merely from self-love, the slavish 
fears of hell, and mercenary hopes of heaven, there is not, in all 
their religion, the least real, genuine conformity to the moral 
law ; — >it is all but an hypocritical, feigned show of love and obe- 
dience ;- — it is not the thing which the law requires, but some- 
thing of a quite different nature ; unless we lay aside God's old 
and everlastinglaw, and invent a new, abated, altered law, which 
shall declare that to be right, which, in the nature of things, is 
unalterably wrong ; and by such a law, such a religion will pass 
for genuine : But it is sad, when we are driven to invent a new 
lazv, to vindicate our religion and our hopes of heaven, since, at 
the day of judgment, we shall find the old lazv to be in full force. 

I am sensible that old objection will be always rising — " But 
" it is not just that God should require of us more than we can 
" do, and then threaten to damn us for not doing of it :" Just 
as if God may not require us to love him with all our hearts, 
merely because we are not suited with him; and just as if we 
were not to blame for being of such a bad temper and disposi- 
tion, merely because we are thoroughly settled in it, and have 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 213 

150 heart to be otherwise ; just as if the worse any one is, the 
Jess he is to blame — than which nothing can be more absurd. — 
Trulv, I cannot but think, that, by this, we are so far from being 
excused, that, even merely for this, we deserve eternal damna- 
tion : For what can be much worse than be so thoroughly set- 
tled and fixed in such a bad temper of mind ? — But, notwith- 
standing all that I have offered to clear this point heretofore, I 
will add, that if it is not just for God to require any more of us 
than we can do, i. e. anymore than we have, not only a natural, 
but a moral power to perform* — then these things will necessa- 
rily follow : 

[* (JjTlt has been questioned by some whether the Author has expressed 
himself on this part of his subject with his usual perspicuity and correct- 
ness. If, by requiring " more than we have natural or moral power to per- 
form," he meant only that more was required, or was necessary, to procure 
the divine favor, than we have natural strength or moral dispositions to 
perform, and that God might justly suspend his favor until this w^ls in 
some way accomplished, his reasoning may perhaps be correct : But if he 
.meant, as his words seem to import^, that God might justly require cfus, 
as a condition of his favor, what we have neither natural nor moral pow- 
er to perform, and, by requiring this, lay us under an obligation to perform 
a natural impossibility, then his reasoning is evidently unsound and incon- 
ive : For must not God's law be founded in the reason and nature of 
things, and his demands, in every instance, be proportioned, not indeed to 
the moral, but to the natural power and capacity of his creatures I The 
Author is himself a strenuous advocate for this principle, throughout the 
greater part erf this work. In page 95th, he remarks that " all the perfec- 
" tion which God requires of any of his creatures, angels or men, is a 
41 measure of knowledge and love bearing an exact proportion to their nat- 
4i ural powers V 9 — But why in ex art proportion to their ?iaturai powers, if, in 
the natu;e of the case, it was not impossible that their obligations should 
ever transcend these powers ? 

The Author appears to have been led into this mistake by supposing that 
whatever was necessary to our salvation, God might justly propose to us, 
and require of us, as a condition of our salvation : But is not this wholly 
to overlook the circumstances of the case ? Could an offer of salvation, up- 
on any conditions, have been made to fallen man, w ithout the intervention 
of a Savior ? The language which God -must necessarily have held to him. 
in these circumstances, was that of a righteous Judge, condemning him to 
everlasting death. A law which could give life, or even propose life, was 
not admissible ; and it was not admissible for this plain reason, that no 
terms could be named which would be proper for God to accept, and which, 
he sinner was naturally able to perform. It is believed, 
therefore, that we should need both a Redeemer and Sanctifier, although 
it v just tor God to require of us more than we have natural povt er 

to fulfil. — We should need a Redeemer to make an atonement for us ;— a 
'work which we could never accomplish, nor be required to accomplish cur- 
ves : We should need a S::nctifier, to renew our hearts, and rest* re us 
to the image of Cod — not h le d because we have no natural power to 
form this work ; for we have this power, and God requires us to exercise 



214 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

1 . That there was-not the least need of Christ's dying for us as 
our Redeemer : For, did we need him to make any atonement 
or satisfacion for our sins ?... Surely no : for God could not just- 
ly require of us more satisfaction for our sins than we were able 
to make ; for that would be to require more than we can do. 
— Did we need him to purchase the divine favor and eternal 
life for us ?... Surely no : for God could not justly require any 
more of us, as a condition of his favor and eternal life, than we 
ourselves were able to do. — Did we need him to purchase an 
abatement of the law ?... Surely no : for God could not, in his 
law, justly require of us more than we could do ; and we did 
not need to have the law brought down lower than this : Well, 
therefore, might St. Paul tell the Galatians that if righteousness 
came by the laxv, then Christ is dead in vain.,. .Gal. ii. 21 : For 
if our doing as well as we can, in the sense before explained, is 
all that righteousness that God can justly require, this alone most 
certainly would be every way sufficient for our salvation : nor 
did we need a Savior any more than the angels in heaven ; for 
we have just as much power to do as as -well as rue can, as they 
have to do as well as they can : To say the contrary, is a contra- 
diction in express terms. 

2. Nor xvas there the least need that the holy spirit should be 
sent into the world, to grant any inward assistance, to enable us 
to do our duty : For we had a full and perfect power to do ail 
our duty, without any such assistance : for God could not just- 
ly require of us any more than we could do ; and every one is 
able to do what he can, without any assistance. 

So that, if this principle be true that God cannot justly require 
of us any more than we can do, it is plain we neither needed a 
Redeemer nor a Sanctificr : so that all the infinite pains which 
God has taken for our redemption and salvation, has been un- 
necessary and fruitless. To do as well as we could, was all 

it — but because we are totally depraved, and shall never employ our natu- 
ral faculties in returning unto God, until moved to it by the operations of 
his holy spirit. 

It will be seen that the exceptions taken against the Author's reasoning 
in this place, apply so far only as the question of natural power is concerned.] 



DISTINGUISHED FRO^I ALL COUNTERFEITS. 215 

that would have been needful ; and this is still as much requi- 
red as ever : So that we are just where we should have been, if 
nothing had ever been done for us : So that this notion entire - 
lv undermines and subverts the whole christian religion, in sup- 
posing that all the extraordinary and wonderful provision there- 
in made for the salvation of sinners was needless ; for if all was 
needless, then the whole is perfectly incredible — for it is incred- 
ible to suppose that God would do so much, and such great things* 
when there was no need of it : so that this notion leads direct- 
ly to infidelity : Yea, if this principle be true, we may be cer- 
tain that the gospel is full of deceit ; for the gospel every where 
supposes sinners to have been in a helpless, undone state, and 
that they might justly have been left so, and perished forever : 
and it every where represents it as owing entirely to the free 
grace and infinitely great goodness of God, that he sent his Son 
into the world to be a Savior, and the holy spirit to be a Sanc- 
tifier - 9 all which, upon this principle, is notoriously false : for 
we were not in a helpless, undone condition ; being able, of our- 
selves, to do <?//that God could justly require of us, in order 
to eternal life. Nor did we need to be beholden to God for 
his grace and goodness, his Son or his spirit ; being able, of 
ourselves, to do all that which he could justly require at our 
hands : Yea, upon this principle, the gospel offers the highest 
affront to human nature, in that it supposes us to be such vile, 
helpless, undone, guilty wretches, when, indeed, and in truth, 
we are not : And, therefore, so long as men really believe this 
notion, they cannot possibly but hate the doctrines of the gos- 
pel, and oppose them : and so, in fact, it has always been. 

To conclude, therefore, since it is so evident from the law, 
and so evident from the gospel, that we are sinful, guilty, help- 
less, undone creatures, had not we better give in to it, and come 
down, and lie in the dust, before the Lord, who knows what 
we are, whether we will own it or no ? Had we not better own 
his law to be holy, just, and good, and acknowledge that we lie 
at his sovereign mercy, and be willing to be beholden to free 

grace, through Jesus Christ, for our salvation ; since we must 

E E 



216 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

do so, or never be saved ? What w T ill it profit us to fly in his 
face, and say, It is not just for him to require more than we can 
do, and then damn us for not doing f when all that he requires, 
is only that we love God with all our hearts, and our neighbor 
as ourselves, which, in the nature of things, is infinitely reason- 
able — and when all ourimpotency arises only from our sinful- 
ness, and so, instead of extenuating our fault, only discovers 
how sinful we are. Surely, since all the world stand guilty be- 
fore God, really guilty, and are so accounted by him, we all 
had best to stop our mouths, and own the sentence just, by which 
we stand condemned, while it is a time of mercy : for who can 
tell but God may pity us ? 

There is but one way now left to evade the force of what has 
been said. To a strict demonstration, the law is not, and can- 
not be abated : there is now no way, therefore, but to deny that 
there ever was such a law. But then, if God be what I suppose 
him to be, to a demonstration the law must be such to© : there is 
no way, therefore, but to deny that there is any such God ! Well, 
but if God be not what I suppose, what is he ? Why, we may 
see the whole scheme, by the following objection,\i\ a few words. 

Ob j. God is a being of infinite understanding and almighty 
power, perfectly disposed to seek the good and happiness of his 
creatures as his last end. He loves virtue, and rewards it, 
merely because it tends to make them happy : He hates vice, and 
punishes it, merely because it tends to make them miserable : All 
he has in viexv, in his commands and prohibitions — in his promi- 
ses and threat enings, is the good, and nothing but merely the good, 
of his creatures ; yea, he esteems things to be virtuous, merely be- 
cause they tend to make us happy ....and vicious, merely because 
they tend to make us miserable : And noxv, therefore, ifxue look 
upon things as he does, and prosecute the same end — if we love 
and practise virtue with a sincere viexv to our oxvn happiness, as 
our last end, we do all that God xvould have us do. And how- 
can we, fxve xugigh things, but most heartily and sincerely love 
so good a God.... so kind a father, xvho so dearly loves us, and so 
tenderly seeks our goal? 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 217 

Ans. True, if God were verily such an one, the most wicked 
man in the world could not but love him. Self-love would 
make it natural. Even publicans love those who love them ; 
and are good to those who are kind to them....ilfof. v. Did 
men firmly believe God to be such an one, they could not, in- 
deed, possibly be at enmity against him, Self-love would not 
admit of it ; Men would not need any grace to make them love 
God : j would make them love him : They could not 

but love him, so long as they love themselves. And now, if 
God, indeed, be such an one, I readily own there is no truth 
in my whole scheme ; but, from first to last, it is all a mistake : 
for it is altogether built upon a supposition that there is a God, 
of a temper essentially different. 

But then 1 would query, if God be such an one.. ..if he aims 
only at his creatures' happiness, why does he ever inflict misery 
upon them ? If he means only to make them happy, why does 
he ever make them miserable ? Why did he drown the old 
•world... .bam Sodom..~and why does he damn sinners to all 
eternity , ? 

It cannot be because justice requires it: for, upon this scheme, 
justice docs not require it : For, upon this scheme, sin does, in 
Strict justice, des< rve no punishment at alL 

A crime deserves no punishment any farther than it is blame- 
worthy : A crime is blame-worthy, no farther than we are un- 
der obligations to do otherwise. According to their scheme, 
all our obligations to be virtuous result merely from its tenden- 
ey to make us happy :* Upon their scheme, therefore, a sinner 

[* :^T The scheme which the Author here opposes, is that which founds 

obligation to virtue, solely upon, the tendency of virtue itself to pron 

individual happiness — a scheme of perfect selnshness, and pregnant with all 

the absurd consequences which the Author has endeavored to attach to it. 

There is another theory distinct from this, and not liable to the same 

objec:ions, which founds our obligations to virtue upon its tendency to pro- 

te public happiness^ or the good of God's creatures, collec: 
ercd. 1 . recollected, the Author opposes in 

31st, whei - he n sites that our oblig > virtue a 

from the mere will of God, nor from any tendency in virtue tc pron 
ess, or the happiness of others, but wholly from 

But is there no difficul 
conceiving of the fitneu or nnfitne** of things, aside from their ofe- 



$18 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, .AtfD 

is to blame for his sins, merely because sin is cross to his own 
happiness, and tends to make him miserable ; — there is no oth- 
er evil in sin but this. This is the only reason why God hates 
it — is set against it, and disposed to punish it : This is the only 
reason why he would have them avoid it ; and this is the only 
reason they are to blame for it. No man is blame-worthy for 
sin any farther than he was under obligations to the contrary. 
All our obligations to virtue, according to them, arise from its 
natural tendency to make us happy : and, therefore, all the evil 
of sin must arise from its natural tendency to make us misera- 
ble : This misery, therefore, is exactly equal to the evil of sin ; 
for all the, evil of sin arises from it, or rather consists in it : This 
misery is all the evil of sin ; and this misery is, therefore, all 
that renders sin blame-worthy, i. e. I am to blame for taking a 
course that tends to make me miserable : And why ?... .Mere- 
ly because it tends to make me miserable ; for that reason, and 
for no other : Therefore, I am so much to blame, and no more, 
for what I do, than according to the degree of its tendency to 
make me miserable : This misery, therefore, which naturally 
results from what I do, is equal to my blame — and is, therefore, 
the xvorst, and all that I deserve ; for no crime deserves to be 

punished, any farther than it is blame-worthy.* And from the 

i 

vious tendency to promote or hinder the happiness of the moral world ? 
True, it may be said that our perceptions of right zndivrong are wholly dis- 
tinct from those of happiness and misery : But is it certain that they are 
wnolly distinct from our perceptions of the natural tendency of right and 
wrong to produce these different ends ? Why does it appear right to do jus- 
tice between man and man, but because public and private happiness ev- 
idently require it ? 

Perhaps, however, upon a- strict enquiry, it would appear that our obli- 
gations to virtue rest not wholly upon any single principle ; but are ground- 
ed upon all those considerations which, according to various schemes, may 
be justly admitted as proper motives to virtuous action : such as the moral 
fitness of things — the tendency of virtue — the glory of God, and the authority 
of his law. To reduce ail to a single principle, as different theorists have 
done, is not only to exclude some motive which ought unquestionably to in- 
fluence our conduct, but to hold up those which are confused, if not unjust, 
instead of such as are clear and determinate.] 

* Ob j. " But are we not, according to their scheme, wider obligations result* 
" ingfrom the authority and command of God .<" 

Ans. We are, according to their scheme, under no obligations to regard 
the authority and command of God at all ; only, and merely, and purely, 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 219 

whole, to a demonstration, it follows, that, upon their scheme, 
sin deserves no inflicted pain or misery, by way of punishment, 
over and above the pain or misery which results necessarily from 
its own nature : And now, if sin does not deserve any such 
punishment, then justice does not require the Governor of the 
world to inflict any such upon any of his creatures, though ev- 
er so sinful ; for justice does not require him to inflict a pun- 
ishment that is not at all deserved — yea, rather it seems cruel- 
ty so to do. If, therefore, justice did not require it, why did 
God drown the old world, and burn Sodom — and why does he 
damn sinners to all eternity ? 

Certainly he did not aim at their good when he drowned the 
old world and burnt Sodom ; and certainly he cannot aim at sin- 
ners' good 'in their eternal damnation. There are some calam- 
ities in this life, which God might be supposed to send upon 
his creatures for their good ; and indeed, all things considered, 
they are well adapted to do them good ; yea, and are all made 
to work together for good to them that love God, and may be 
numbered among their mercies : But what shall we say when 
God drowns a whole world, burns up several cities, and damns 
to all eternity millions of his creatures — yea, and all for noth- 
ing, when they deserved no ill at his hands, not the least ! Where 
is his justice noxu ? Yea, where is his goodness ? Or what does 
he mean ? What does he intend ? 

Certainly he cannot intend to deal so severely with seme 
of his poor creatures, who never deserved any ill at his hand; , 
merely for the good of others, to fright, and warn, and deter them 
from vice ; for this would be to do evil that good might come— 

because it 13 for our interest so to do — as themselves acknowledge. 

Obj. u But art \ve not, according to them, obliged to have regard to our 
neighbor's welfare ? 

I. Only, merely, purely because it is for our own interest to do so : 
for, according to them, all our obligations to practise any virtue, arise, ori- 
ginally, only from its being for our own interest. The language cf such a 
practice plainly is, :hat there is not one being in the whole system worth 
regarding, but myself: — lam, and besides me there is no other ! I will regard 
none, but just to answer my own ends ; and so, really and str ;ard 

none but myself : Ttyis is a religion that will suit nature ; and, in this sense, 
»iay justly be called natural religion* 



220 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

yea, this would be the way rather that good might never come 
for how could any of his creatures or subjects heartily love him 
or like his conduct, while they behold millions of their fellow- 
creatures suffering, for nothing at all, such infinite pains under 
his hands ? Where is his justice ? would they all cry : And 
where is his goodness ? They would hate him, and flee from 
him, and dread a government so infinitely tyrannical. Indeed, 
to inflict a proper punishment, in case of just desert, is a good 
thing — tends to maintain government, and make men afraid of 
sin,. and stand in awe of the great Law-giver and Judge of the 
world : Yea, it is a beautiful conduct, and tends to make God 
appear amiable in the eyes of all holy beings. „*Rev. xix. 1 — 6. 
But to afflict and torment poor creatures, who do not at all de- 
serve it, and that forever, camiot possibly answer any good end j 
but, of necessity, must promote a thousand bad ones, when, all the 
time r the true state of the case is publicly known and understood 
throughout all God's dominions. It is just as if a father, who 
has ten children, should tie up five every Monday morning, and 
whip them almost to death for nothing in the world but to make 
the rest love him, and be good and obedient children : And 
would they love him any the more for this ? Yea, they could 
not but hate so cruel a tyrant : Now, therefore, if their scheme 
be true, why did God drown the old xvorld, and burn Sodom ? 
And why does he damn sinners to all eternity ? 

Yea, if sin deserves no inflicted punishment, as, upon their 
scheme, it does not, why does God ever once inflict the least, the 
very least punishment for it in all his dominions ? And that 
which, though not, in its own nature, more unaccountable, yet is 
more surprising, why has God, all along, from the beginning 
of the w orld, been inflicting such a dreadful train of punishments 
for sin ? Why did God turn the angels out of heaven for their 
first sin, and doom them to an eternal hell, when they did not 
at all deserve it I Why did God threaten Adam with death in 
case of disobedience ? — Why is death said to be the wages of 
sin ? — Why did God cause the earth to open and swallow up 
Korah and his company ? — Why did God cause the carcases of 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 221 

six hundred thousand to fall in the wilderness! — Why did God 
strike Uzza dead I And why a thousand more things rrhich 
have happened in the sight of the world ? Surely it cannot be 
for our good to be struck dead and sent to hell ; and surely it 
iotbe for die good of any in all God's world, that shall see 
or ever hear of it, when, all the while, it is publicly known 
that we deserve no ill at God's hands — no, not the least. 

And now, after all, to torment us in hell forever, for nothing 
in the world, where the fire shall never be quenched, and the 
m shall never die ; yea, and to appoint a day of judgment, 
under a pretence of doing nothing but strict justice ; and to 
summon all worlds together, to see and hear, to the end that 
his impartiality' and justice might appear to all, when, all the 
while, he knows, and all the world knows, that his poor crea- 
tures deserve no ill at his hands — no., not the least ! What can 
he mean ? 

Yea, and that which is a great deed worse than all, that I even 
shudder to think of it, he not only makes a law to punish sin- 
ners eternally in hell, when there was no reason for it, but puts 
it in execution upon his poor creatures who do not deserve it ; 
but, haying one only Son, of equal glory with himself, he de- 
livers him to death, in the room and stead of sinners ; pretend- 
ing that sin was so bad a thing, that without the shedding of 
could be no remission, and therefore his own Son must 
.. to the end he might be just, zvh'rie lie justified the sinner that 
should believe in him — while, ?dl the time, if their scheme is 
true, he knew, and all the world will know, sooner or later, that 
sin never deserved the least punishment at his hands ! 

To conclude, therefore, if God be what th< pose, I grant 

tie I have laid down is not right; and it is equally 

I that the Bible is not right neither : for ti. 

the Old Testament and the 1 

and take ic for granted, that sin is an innnit : . \ il — deserves the 

thand curse of God. ..all the miseri ath 

itself, and the pains of hell forever ; — the law threatens all this. 

According to the gospel, Christ has died to redeem us from all 



222 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

this, as what we justly deserve : The Bible, therefore, in a word, 
supposes we deserve it all ; but their scheme, supposes we do 
not. The God that made the Bible has no doubt of it ; he 
made his law upon this ground, and upon this footing he gave his 
Son to die. ...has appointed a day of judgment, and prepared a 
place of torment- — a lake of fire and brimstone : but their Ged is 
of quite another mind.. ..can see no such infinite evil in sin- — yea, 
no evil at all in it, but what results from its tendency to make us 
miserable : Their God, therefore, is not the God of Israel, nor 
the God that made the Bible ; and, therefore, is no God.. .As noth- 
ing but an image framed in their own fancy, suited to their 
own hearts. 

Besides, their idea of God is contrary not only thus to the gen- 
eral tenor of scripture, but also to many plain and express dec- 
larations. (1.) It is manifest that God does not make the hap- 
piness of his creatures his last end, from Exod. ix. 16 — Numb. 
xiv. 13 — 21 — Lev. x. 3 — Psalm cvi. 8 — Ezek. xx. throughout. 
EzeL xxxvi. 21, 22, 23, and xxxviii. 23, and xxxix. 6, 7, 13, 
21, 22 — Rom. ix, 22, 23 — Rom. xi. 36 — Rev. iv. 11. (2.) It 
is manifest that God does not require his creatures to love and 
obey him merely because it tends to make them happy so to 
do, from Exod. xx. 2 — Lev. xix. 2 — Psalm xxix. 2, and xcvi. 
4, 8, and cxlviii. 13 — L Cor. vi. 20. (3.) It is manifest that 
God does not threaten and punish sin merely because it tends 
to make his creatures miserable, from I. Sam. ii. 29 : 30 — II. 
Sam. xii. 7 — -14 — Psalm li. 4 — Mai. i. 6, 7, 8, 14. 

But to conclude ; — how sad and dreadful a thing will it be, 
for poor sinners, when they come to die, and enter into the 
world of spirits, there to find that the God they once loved and 
trusted in, was nothing but an image framed in their own fancy ! 
They hated the God of Israel, and hated his lata, and therefore 
would not believe that God or his law were indeed what they 
were. They were resolved to have a God and a law more to 
their minds. How dreadful will their disappointment be ! Kow 
dreadful their surprise ! They would never own they were en- 
emies to God ; now they see their enmity was so great as to 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 223 

make them resolutely, notwithstanding the plainest evidence, 
even to deny him to be what he was : And how righteous will 
the ways of the Lord appear to be, in that he gave such over to 
strong delusions to believe a lie, who did not love, and would 
not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness ?..,. 
II. Thes. ii. 10, 11, 12 : So, the Gentile nations, not liking to re- 
tain God in their knowledge, were given over to reprobation inds, 
and left every nation to make such a Gtftiasbest pleased them- 
selves.. ..Rom. i. — But it is time to proceed to the next use. 

SECTION VI 

RULES OF TRIAL. 

Use II. Which may be of examination. What has been 
said may serve to clear up, to real saints, their gracious state, and 
may afford matter of conviction to others. 

And here I would take the humble believer in his element, 
that is, in his closet, where he retires from the noise and busi- 
ness of the world — where he loves to be alone, to read the Bi- 
ble.... to meditate on the perfections of God, and think of his 
works and ways — where he mourns, and prays, and loves God, 
and gives up himself to him : In a serious hour of sweet retire- 
ment, when you are most yourself, and your thoughts most a£>out 
vou, I would enquire, What are your views ? And what is the 
inzvard temper of your mind ? And how do you live f And zvhat 
/;• it that habitually influences you in your daily conduct ? 

Do you know God ? Do you see hirn to be such an one as 
he really is — even such an one as the scriptures represent him 
to be ? And do you account him infinitely glorious and amia- 
ble in being such an one ? And do you begin to love him with 
all your heart ? Do you esteem him so as to exult in his su- 
premacy and absolute sovereignty ? And so will seek his glory, 
and value his honor and interest, as to give up yourself to live 
to him ; and so delight in him, as to choose him for your pres- 
ent and everlasting portion ? True, your remaining blindness 
and ignorance is very great : but do you not feel it, and groan 
under it as your burden, and hate yourself for it as your sin, la- 
menting the sottishness of vour heart, that vou should be s# 

' F F 



224 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

senseless and brutish, after so many outward advantages and in- 
ward helps, and amidst such clear manifestations made of God 
and of his infinite glory, in his word, and in all his works and 
ways; and feel that you are wholly to blame for the stupidity 
and unteachableness of your heart— ready to say with him of 
old, So foolish am i, and ignorant, lam as a beast before thee ?... 
Psalm lxxiii, 22. Your disesteem of God, and unconcerned- 
ness about his honor and interest, is great, and you have still a 
disposition to hate to live upon God only, without any thing 
else to take comfort in, as the portion of your soul ; and so you 
are inclined to forget God.. ..to forsake him. ...to depart, and 
go away, and fall in love with something else, and seek another 
resting-place, and something else to take comfort in : But do 
you not feel this your remaining want of conformity to God's 
law, and native contrariety to it ? And do you not hate it, and 
hate yourself for it ? Do you not groan under it, and lament it, 
and watch, and pray, and fight against it, feeling the infinite 
sinfulness of it ? saying, The laxv is holy, just, and good ; but I 
am carnal, soldunder sin : xvretchedman that 7a7n/....Rom. 
vii. 14,24. 

And what are the grounds of your love to God, and from 
what motives is it that you are influenced to love him? Does 
God, indeed, appear infinitely great, glorious, and amiable in 
being what he is ? And do you love him because he is just such 
an one ? Do you love to meditate his incomprehensibly glori- 
ous perfections, and wonder and adore ? Are you glad that he 
knows all things, and can do every thing ? Are the various man- 
ifestations of divine wisdom, in the moral government of the 
world, glorious in your eyes ? Does it suit your heart that God 
governs the world as he does ? Do you love that the pride of 
all flesh should be brought low, and the Lord alone be exalted ? 
Are you glad that God loves righteousness and hates iniquity 
as he does ; and do you heartily approve the strictness of his 
law in the matter of your duty, and the severity thereof against 
the least sin ? And are you sweetly sensible of the infinite good- 
ness of God, and of his truth and faithfulness ? And does God 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 225 

appear infinitely glorious because he is just what he is ? And 
is this the primary foundation of your love ?...In a word, do you 
see him as the great Creator, Preserver, and Governor of the 
world — as the Redeemer, Sanctifier, and Savior of his people, 
as he has thus revealed himself, by his word, and in his works ; 
and do vou love him for being what he is ? And do you also 
feel the powerful influence of those superadded obligations you 
are under to love him ? — In other cases, when we love any thing, 
we know why we love it : so, also, do believers know why they 
love the Lord their God. 

And does it not appear to you infinitely reasonable that you 
should love God with all your heart — that you should be wholly 
his, and wholly for him, and make him your all, while you be- 
holdhis infinite glory,.,. his complete all-sufficiency.. ..his origi- 
nal, entire right to you, and absolute authority over you ? And 
does not his law, in requiring you to do so, appear to be infinite- 
ly right, perfectly holy, just, and good.. ..worthy to stand in full 
force forever, unabated and unaltered ? And do you not see 
that the least want of conformity to this law, or transgression 
of it, is infinitely vile, and that a perfect conformity thereto de- 
serves no thanks ? And do vou not feel yourself whollv to blame 
for your not being altogether such as the law requires ? Hypo- 
crites- are generally very ignorant of the law, in its true mean- 
ing and strictness ; and so are ignorant of their want of confor* 
mity unto it, and of their inward contrariety to it.. ..Rom. yii. 8, 9 
— for otherwise all hypocrites would know certainly that they 
have no grace. But yet hypocrites, at least many of them, 
know something about the law, and their want of conformity 
to it, and something about their inward contrariety to it ; and 
hence may complain of the blindness of their minds, the dead- 
ness of their hearts, and of their pride and worldliness : but no 
hypocrite is heartily sensible that the law is holy, just, and good 
in requiring perfection ; and that he himself is entirely to blame 
for not being perfectly holy, and. that the fault is wholly fa 
Some will say, " I desire to love God, and to aim at his glory, 
"and do my duty ; but no man is, or can be perfect : and God 



226 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

" docs not require more of us than we can do :" And so they 
think themselves excusable, and are not sensible that it is infi- 
nitely vile in them not to love God with all their hearts. Oth- 
ers will say, a I can do nothing of myself : it is Christ that must 
" do all. I desire to love God, but I cannot : It is the spirit 
u that must fill my heart with love, and God is the sovereign 
"dispenser of his grace ; so that, if I am dead, and dull, and 
" senseless, and stupid, I cannot help it :" And so they also 
think themselves excusable, and are not sensible that it is infi- 
nitely vile in them not to love God with all their hearts. But 
now, how stands the case with you ? Have you any secret way 
of excusing yourself ? Or do you see that the law is holy, just, 
and good, and that you only are to blame, wholly to blame, and 
altogether without excuse ; yea, and exceedingly vile, for ail 
your blindness and deadness, and for every thing wherein you are 
not just what the law requires you to be ? It is this which makes 
believers sensible of their desert of damnation, all their lives 
long, and loathe and abhor themselves before the Lord : and it 
is this which cruises them more and more to see their need of 
Christ and free grace, and admire and prize the glorious gospel, 
wretched ma?i that I am ! Who shall deliver me ? I thank God, 
through Jesus Christ our Lord., ..Rom. vii. 24, 25. 

And do you begin to be of a disposition really to love your 
neighbor as yourself? Are your affections under the govern- 
ment of a spirit of disinterested impartiality, so that you are 
disposed to value yourself only for those properties in you that 
are good and excellent, and only in proportion to their worth 
and excellence ; and, by this "uie, to esteem your neighbors, 
your friends, and your foes, and all men ? And do you hate a 
contrary disposition in you ? And is your heart full of love, and 
kindness, and benevolence, wishing well to all, seeking the 
good of all, and even grieved when your enemies are in ad- 
versity ? 

And to conclude ; — does love to God and to your neighbor 
govern you in your thoughts, affections, and actions, and daily 
influence you to live to God, and do good in the world ; so 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 227 

that now you are not your own, but given up to God, to do his 
will, seeking his glory? A holy life does as naturally proceed 
from a holy heart, as a stream does from a living fountain. 

Once you was darkness : But are you now light in the Lord ? 
Once, as to right spiritual views of God. ...your neighbor, or 
yourself.. ..of this world or the next, you had none ; — you was 
blind. ...} T our understanding was darkened ; and so your appre- 
hensions were wrong, and you loved your wrong apprehensions, 
....and took pleasure in error, falshood, and sin. ...and hated the 
light — hated truth and duty ; — -once you was wholly devoid 
of the divine image, and destitute of all good — yea, and you was 
wholly averse from God, and full of all evil : And did you ev- 
er see and feel this to be your state ? And have you, by divine 
grace, been recovered out of it ? Have you been effectually 
ght that your light w r as darkness, and your knowledge igno- 
rance, and been made sensible of the blindness of your mind ? 
And have you learnt that all your seeming goodness was coun- 
terfeit, and that in you did dwell no good thing — yea, that your 
seeming goodness was real wickedness, in that your heart was 
in perfect contrariety to God and his law ? Has divine light shi- 
ned in your heart, and your native darkness, as well as contrac- 
ted biindnesss,been dispelled from your soul ; so that now your 
views of God — of your neighbor and yourself — of this world 
and the next, are right, and your apprehensions according to 
truth ? And has the truth made you free ? Do you now look 
upon God, in some measure, according to the capacity of a crea- 
ture, as he does upon himself, when he takes upon him the chat> 
acter of most high God, supreme Lord, and sovereign 
Governor of the whole world, and says, lam the Lord....!/iat 
is my name, and besides me there is no other God? And do you 
see it is infinitely fit that all the world should love, worship, 
and adore him ? Do you now look upon your neighbors in 
some measure ai God does, when he commands you to love 
them as yourself; and so see that it is perfectly right that you 
should ? And do ; on look upon yourself, and every thing in 
this world, in 51 me measure as God does, when he commands 



228 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

you to deny yourself, and forsake all things for his sake ; and 
see that it is most fit and reasonable to* die to yourself and to 
this world, and give up yourself io God, to love him, and live 
to him, and delight in him forever ? And do you understand 
that the things which are seen are temporal, and that the things 
which are unseen are eternal ? And do all possible troubles in 
the ways of God, in some measure, appear only as light afflic- 
tions, which are but for a moment, and not worthy to be com- 
pared with the glory that shall be revealed ? Do you thus know 
the truth..,. and has the truth made you free from your old ser- 
vitude" ; and are you effectually influenced and governed by 
these views and apprehensions, and this sense of things, to bring 
forth fruit to God, an hundred-fold, or sixty-fold, or at least 
thirty-fold I For divine knowledge is efficacious, and the holy 
and divine effects and fruits are always equal to the degree of 
knowledge : (I. John iii. 6)... And every branch which bringeth 
not forth fruit, is cut off and cast into the fre. Are you thus- 
born again, and become anew creature, and learnt to live a new 
and divine life ? 

And is it not now most manifest to you that all this is so far 
from having been the product of nature, that all that is in nature 
.♦..every natural propensity of the heart, has, from first to last, 
been utterly against the change, and made a constant and mighty 
resistance ? And do you not plainly perceive, that, from first 
to last, the work has been begun and carried on by God himself ? 

And does it notappear to you as the most astonishing good- 
ness in God, and owing to nothing but his sovereign free grace, 
that you have thus been called out of darkness into marvellous- 
light — turned from the power of sin and satan,to serve the liv- 
ing God I And do you not plainly see there is nothing but the 
same infinite goodness and free grace to move God to carry on 
and complete this work in your heart, and that so, if ever you. 
get to heaven^ the whole of your salvation, from first to last,, 
will be absolutely and entirely to be attributed to free grace I 
And have you not hence learnt to live upon free grace, through 
Jesus Christ, for all things I - 






DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 229 

And do you not perceive that he, who has begun, does ac- 
tually carry on the work of grace in your hearts ? And that all 
the external dispensations of providence and internal influences 
of the spirit concur in their operation, to humble you, and wean 
you from the world, and imbitter sin — to bring you nearer to 
God, and to love him, and to live to him, and to live upon him— 
and to make you more serious.,. .more spiritually-minded and 
heavenly-minded.. ..more watchful and prayerful, and more lov. 
ing, and kind, and tender-hearted, and obliging to all mankind, 
both friends and foes — and-to make you daily attend upon the 
duties of your particular calling, and upon all the ..common bu* 
siness of life, as a servant of God 3 in singleness of heart, dcing 
service to the Lord ? 

And although you was once dead hi sin, and wholly without 
strength, yet do you not now feel that you are spiritually alive, 
and so put into a capacity for a spiritual activity, and that you 
are engaged to be active for God l. M Nbt that your sufficiency 
is of yourself, as once you thought it was : for you are not suf- 
ficient of yourself as of yourself ; but your sufficiency is of God: 
Yet do you not find that, through Christ's strengthening* 
you can do all things ? And do you not, from the heart, hate 
the way of lazy, dead-hearted hypocrites, who sit still, and care- 
lessly cry, u We can do nothing — it is Christ that must do all ;" 
and, under a notion of not doing any thing in their own strength, 
gratify their laziness, and do nothing at all ! Accursed laziness ! 
Accursed hypocrisy ! — Do you not feel, I say, that you are put 
into a capacity for spiritual activity ? And are you not engaged 
to be active for God ? For you are Ids workmanship, created in 
Christ Jesus unto good works, that you might walk in them. — 
While the spirit of God is taking down the power of sin in your 
heart, and slaying your corruptions, are you not also cruciffmg 
the flesh with the affections and lu^ts ? While God is XVQriing 
in you to will and to do, are you not working out yaur salvation. 
with fear and trembling.. ..wiih filial fear and holy concern : — - 
While the spirit of God gives you might in the inner man, do 
not you put on the whole armour of God, and fght with flesh and 



230 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

blood.. ..vAth principalities and powers P This is the way of be- 
lievers. And the spirit does not come upon them by fits, as It 
did upon Balaam, but dxvells in them and abides in them forev- 
er — to purify them from all iniquity, and make them a peculiar 
people, zealous of good works. 

Finally, do you not experience that your religion is some- 
thing real and perceptible, and see that it is specifically different 
from any thing riiat possibly can arise merely from a principle 
of self-love ? You perceive your views of God, and sense of his 
greatness, glory, and beauty ; and you perceive your sense of 
the world's emptiness, and of your own natural vileness and 
wretchedness ; and your love to God. ...your weanedness from 
the world, and your mourning for sin are perceptible : And is 
it not easy to perceive why you love God — are weaned from 
the world, and mourn for sin ; namely, because God is infinite- 
ly lovely, the world empty and worthless, and sin the greatest 
evil ? And while these views and affections effectually influence 
you to all holy living, their genuineness is made still more ev- 
ident and plain : and, from the whole, you arise to a rational 
and scriptural knowledge of your gracious state. 

From what has been said upon this subject, a great variety 
of other questions might be put to the believer ; but the whole 
has been treated so plainly and practically, that I need add no 
more : And if graceless persons had it in their hearts to be 
honest and impartial, they might easily know that they are stran- 
gers to real religion : But if they have not the thing itself, they 
will either work up something like it, or else deny that there is 
any such thing : for he that doth evil, hateth the light ; and so 
does he who has a rotten heart. And hence some cry, M The 
" best have their failings ;" and they watch and catch at the fail- 
ings of such as are accounted godly, and dwell upon them, and 
magnify them ; and so quiet their consciences, and go on irt 
their sins : Others cry, " The best are dead sometimes ;" and 
so maintain their hopes, although they lie dead whole months 
and years together, and live in sin, and never come to sound re- 
pentance : Others cry, u You will discourage weak christians ;" 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS* 231 

meaning themselves. — Just as if there were a sort of christians 
that cannot bear the light, nor stand a scriptural trial. What 
Will they do when they come before the awful bar of the heart- 
searching God ! Others cry, u But every christian does not 
experience alike ;" and so, though they are destitute of the very 
essence and life of religion, yet they hope all is well ; and ma- 
ny are confident that these things are not so ; a For," say they f 
" if these things be true, who then shall be saved ?" — I answer, 
Strait is the gate, and narrorv is the way that leads to life ; and 
few there be that find it : But wide is the gate, and broad is the 
way that leads to destruction, and many go in t her eat.... Mat, vii. 
13, 14. And mark what follows in the next verse, (15). >. Be- 
ware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep^s-clothing, but 
inwardly are ravening xvohes : (ver. 16). ...Te shall know them 
by their fruits. By w hat fruits? Why, this is the constant 
character of false prophets throughout the Bible, that they crv, 
Peace and safety, and heal the xvound of poor sinners slightly, and 
.daub with nntempered mortar ; i. e. they make religion to be 
an easier thing than it is — more agreeable to corrupt nature ; 
and so encourage sinners to rest in something short of true 
grace. So the Pharisees did, notwithstanding all their pretend- 
ed strictness ; and so the Arminians do, notwithstanding all 
their seeming zeal for good works ; and so the Antinomians 
do, notwithstanding all their pretences to extraordinary light, 
and joy, and zeal, and purity, and holiness. And this is the 
common character of all false prophets, and false teachers, and 
heretics, that, being enemies to true religion, they cut out a false 
scheme in their heads, to suit their own hearts ; and so, how- 
r greatly they may differ, in many things, yet herein all agree, 
to make religion an easier thing than the Bible does, and to 
make the gate wider, and the way broader, than Christ and his 
apostles ; and, by this mark, the difference between them and 
the true prophets may always be certainly known : and there- 
fore Christ having just said, Strait is the gate, and narrow the 
7vay, &c. immediately adds, Beware pf fake prophets — by their 

fruits ye shall know them ; for they all invent some easier wav 

G G 



£32 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

to heaven, though it may be in sheep ^clothing, i. e. under a show 
of great strictness : And this, their invention, being false, they 
are thus denominated false prophets : And thus, what has been 
said concerning the nature of true religion, may serve to clear 
up the believer's gracious state ; and may afford matter of con* 
viction to others. 

SECTION Vlt 

WE HAVE GHEAT REASON TO BE HUMBLE, AND THANKFUL, 

AND LIVE ENTIRELY DEVOTED TO GOD. 

Use III. Of humiliation. What has been said may be 
improved by sinners and saints to promote their humiliation : 
For by the law is the knowledge of sin ; and a sight and sense 
of our sinfulness tends to abase us before the Lord. 

In this glass of the law , sinners may see what they are, m 
heart and life ; and,, by this rule, they may learn how God looks 
upon them. There is a knowledge of ourselves — of our hearts 
and lives, that is natural to us. Men, by their power of self- 
reflection, have a sort of an acquaintance with themselves : they 
know their present views and designs — their present inclinations 
and way of living ; and remember, more or less, how they have 
lived in years past ^ But men are naturally very ignorant of the 
nature of God, and of his holy law ; and so, are very ignorant of 
themselves, in a moral sense — are very insensible how God looks 
upon them, and what their hearts and lives are, compared with 
God and his holy law. Natural conscience has some notions 
about right and wrong, and so does something towards accusing 
and condemning men, especially for their grosser sins ; but na- 
tural conscience is, for the most part, so blind, and so much 
asleep, and, in most men, has been so much abused, and brow- 
beat, and kept under, that it lets men pretty much alone. Men 
hold the truth in unrighteousness, according to the Apostle's 
phrase, and keep their consciences in chains ; and so are, in a 
great measure, without the law ; and hence, sin is dead : for 
where there is no law, there is no transgression : And when 
men know not the lav/ in its true meaning and extent, they are 
insensible how thev swerve from it, and how contrary they are 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 235 

to it, and how sinful sin is : But token the commandment comes, 
sin revives* 

Think of this, therefore, O sinner, that the infinitely glorious 
God, your Creator, Preserver, and Governor, deserves to be 
loved, and lived to, and delighted in with all your heart ; and 
that this is what he requires at your hands : and know it, he 
hates vour hypocritical shows and pretences, so long as that, 
in heart, he sees you are an enemy to him : You may 
pretend that you cannot help your heart's being so bad ; but God 
knows you love your corruptions, and hate to have them slain, 
and iove to have them gradfied : You love to be proud, and 
hence you love to be applauded ; and the praise of men is sweet, 
and ot greater price with you than the praise of God : you will 
do more to please the world than to please God— yea, will dis- 
please God, to keep in with a wicked world, who hate God ; 
and God knows it : You love to love the world ; and hence love 
to lay worldly schemes, and are secretly ravished with worldly 
hopes when things are likely to go well, and account no pains 
too great in worldly pursuits ; but you hate to pray in secret — 
have no heart for God — -can take no delight in him ; and God 
knows it. And will you now pretend, for your excuse, that 
you cannot help your heart's being so bad, when it is ?jon 
yourself 'that are so bad, and love to be so bad, and hate to cease 
to be what you are ? If God has, by his spirit, awakened your 
conscience a little, and terrified vou with the fears of hell and 
wrath, it may be your corruptions are somewhat stunned, and 
honor and worldly gains do not appear so tempting, and you are 
ready to say that you would willingly part with your reputation, 
and every thing you have in the world, for an interest in Christ 
and the divine favor ; and now you think you are sincere : but 
God knows it is all hypocrisy ; for he sees you do not care for 
him, but are only afraid of damnation. And God knows that, 
if once you should get a false confidence of pardon and the di- 
vine favor, you would soon return to folly, as the dog to his 
vomit, and set out after the world as eagerly as ever ; or else 
vent your corruptions in spiritual pride 1 and in ranting, enthitv 



234< TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AS£> 

siastic, wild-fire, and party selfish zeal, as thousands have done* 
who once felt just as you do now* God, therefore, does not 
mind your pretences, nor believe your promises ; for he knows 
what you are. You may deceive yourself, but cannot deceive 
him » He knows your corruptions are stunned, but not mortifi- 
ed ; and that your nature is just what it was, and you as really 
an enemy to God as ever : And, it may be, you may see it yet, 
when you come to find out how God looks upon you, and upon 
your prayers, and tears, and promises : for it is commonly the 
case with sinners, when they perceive that God is not pleased 
with their devout pretences, and does not design to save them 
for their hypocritical duties, by the secret workings of their 
hearts to discover that they care only for themselves, and are 
real enemies to God and his law* Love to God, O sinner, is 
not begotten by the fears of hell, nor by the hopes of heaven* 
If you do not love God for what he is in himself, you do not 
love him at all ; but only flatter him with your lips, and lie un- 
to him with your tongue* But it may be manifest to you that 
you do not love him for what he is in himself, because you do 
not love his law, which bears his image. You do not like the 
law as a rule for you to live by, for it is too strict for you : and 
you do not approve of the law as a rule for God to judge you 
by, for you think it hard for God to damn men for the least sin. 
Know it, therefore, O sinner, that there is no good in you, or any 
goodness in your duties \ but you are in a state of rebellion-— 
an enemy to God, and to his holy law : come down, and 
lie in the dust before the Lord, and own the sentence just by 
which you stand condemned, and be quiet at his feet; and if 
ever he saves you, forever attribute it wholly to free and sove- 
reign grace* When the commandment came, sin revived, and I 
died : And such an one was you, O believer ; and, in some 
measure, you are such an one still ; and, in some respects, your 
sins are a great deal more aggravated* Oh ! never forget the 
days, and weeks, and months, and years you have formerly spent 
in sin ! Once I was a persecutor, and a blasphemer, and injurious, 
said St. Paul ; and his heart bleeds afresh* and he sets himself 



DISTINGUISHED TROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 235 

down for the chief of sinners.,.. I. Tim. i. 13, 15. But what are 
you now, after all the grace of God.. ..after all the kind methods 
heaven has taken to reclaim you — and what are your attain, 
ments, if you compare yourself and attainments with the holy- 
law of God, in its spiritual nature and divine strictness ? Do you 
feel such a heart towards the great and glorious Governor of the 
whole world, as becomes you ? Think what a God he is, and 
how angels and saints on high love him: Think of his majesty, 
and greatness, and glory, and excellence — and how he is the 
fear, and delight, and joy of all heaven : Think of his original 
and entire right to you, and absolute authority over you : Think 
of the viieness of your apostacy, and of the depth of your ruin : 
Think of redeeming love : Think of converting grace : Think 
of the many means God has used with you in his providence, 
and by his spirit: Think of all his loving kindnesses and tender 
mercies. And think what a beast you are before the Lord ! 
Lie down in the dust, and cry, and mourn, and weep, and let 
your heart break ! Oh, your want of love to God.... of zeal for 
his glory.. ..of delight in his perfections, and of gratitude for all 
his kindness ! Alas, how you disesteem the God that angels 
love, and comparatively despise the God that all heaven adores ! 
Alas, how careless you are about his honor and interest, and 
how inactive in his service ! Alas, how you disrelish the foun- 
tain of all goodness, and the ocean of all blessedness, and han- 
ker after other things, and go away from God, to seek rest else- 
where, and thereby cast infinite contempt upon the delight of 
heaven, and the joy of angels, the ever-blessed and all-sufficient 
God ! Think of the peculiar obligations God has laid you un- 
der by all the secret ways of his providence and grace with you, 
and of all the infinite pains he has taken with you to make you 
humble. ...weaned from the world.. ..devoted to God.. ..loving, 
kind, tender-hearted, friendly, and obliging to all mankind, and 
universally holy ; and see, and say, ' Was ever wretch so vile ! 
Did ever wretch treat such a God in such a manner, under such 
circumstances !' Oh, how far, how infinitely far you are from 
being what you ought to be ! This made St. Paul account him- 



236 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

self less than the least of all saints, and forget the things that are 
behind : his attainments dwindled away, as it were, to nothing, 
when he compared himself with God's holy law, and thought 
what he ought to be, and what obligations he was under ; and 
he did, therefore, as it were, set down all that he had hitherto 
attained for nothing, and feel and act as if he was but just now 
beginning to live to God. Rom. vii. 14.... The Law is spirit 
tualj but lam carnal,s old under sin — verse 24.... wretched man 
that lam ! — Phil. iii. 13, 14..../ forget the things which are be* 
hind.... I reach forth towards those things which are before...* I 
press towards the mark : and, O believer, go you, and do likewise. 
Besides, remember that it is no thanks to you that you are 
not to this day secure in sin ; yea, that you are not one of the 
vilest and most profane creatures in the world : Your nature 
was bad enough ; — the seeds of every sin were in your heart ; 
—-but for restraining or sanctifying grace, you might have been as 
bad as any in Sodom. And what was it moved God to awaken 
you, and stop you in your career in sin, and turn you to God ? — 
Was it for your righteousness ?...Oh, be ashamed and confound-* 
cd forever ! — For his own sake he has done it, when you was a 
stubborn, stiff-necked, rebellious creature* A nd truly, what has 
been your carriage towards the Lord, compared with the exact 
rule of duty, the holy law of God, since the day you have known, 
him ?...0, remember Massah, and Tabera, and Kibroth-hataa* 
vah y and how you have been rebellious against the Lord, ever 
since he has taken you in hand to subdue you to himself— 
(Read Deut. ix. and see how much your temper has been like 
theirs :) — And this notwithstanding all the signs and wonders 
God has wrought before your eyes ; — I mean, notwithstanding 
all the sweet and awful methods God has taken with you, to 
make you know him, and love him, and fear him, and live to him. 
There are thousands and thousands whom God never took any 
such special pains with : Their sins are not like yours : Come 
down, there fore... sit in the dust.. .mourn and weep, and loathe 
and abhor yourself, as long as you live ; and ascribe all praise to- 
God, through whose grace alone it is that you are what you are* 






DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 237 

Let me here address you in the words of the famous Mr. 
Hooker : — u That thou mayest forever, each day that passeth 
* over thy head, remember it to the Lord, and leave it upon 
"record in thine own conscience, say — Hadst thou (blessed 
u Lord) given me the desires of my heart, and left me to my 
"own will, it is certain I had been in hell long before this day, 
M when, in the days of my folly and times of my ignorance — 
"when, out of the desperate wretchedness of my rebellious dis- 
u position, I was running riot in the ways of wickedness — when 
" I said to the seers, see not, and to the prophets, prophesy not— 
"to Christians. ..to acquaintance... to governors, admonish not, 
" counsel not, reprove not, stop me not in the pursuit of sin, 
" The time was, I took hold of deceit, and refused to return ; nay, 
" resolved in the secret purpose of my heart, Ixvouldnone of thee 
" — I would not have that word of thine reveal or remove my 
" corruptions — I would none of thy grace that might humble me 
" and purge me.. .none of that mercy of thine that might pardon 
"me. ..none of that redemption of thine that might save me; 
" Hadst thou then taken me at my word, and given me what I wish* 
" ed, and sealed my destruction, saying, c Be thou forever filthy, 
"forever stubborn, and forever miserable ; thou wouldst nei- 
ther be holy nor happy — thou shalt have thy will — sin with 
"devils, and take thy portion with devils\...Lord, it had been 
"just with thee, and I justly miserable : But to bear with all my 
44 baseness. ..to put up with all those wrongs and provocations... 
" to strive with me for my good, when I took up arms against 
" thee, and strove against my own good — nay, when I resisted 
" mercy ; and then to take away that resistance, and to cause 
" me to take mercy, and make it mine, when I used all the 
"skill I could to hinder my own salvation— Oh ! the height.... 
"the depth. ...the length.... the breadth of this mercy! When 
" we feel our hearts to be puffed up with the vain apprehension 
"of our own worth, parts, or performances.. ..what we pre and 
" what we do, look we back to our first beginnings, and judge 
" aright of our own wretchedness and nothingness, yea, worse 
"than nothing, in that we not only wanted all good, but we had 



a 



a 



238 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

44 it within us to oppose all good ; and that will cause us to sit 
u down in silence, abased forever. When empty bladders are 
" grown unto too great bulk and bigness, to prick them is the 
" readiest way to lessen them: when our empty and vain 
44 minds swell with high thoughts, and high, over-weening con- 
" ceit of our own worth, learn we to stab and pierce our hearts 
with the righteous judgment of our own natural vileness, which 
4 will (or at least may) let out that frothy haughtiness that lifts 
us up beyond our measure : Tell thy heart, and commune 
44 with thy conscience, and say, It is not my good nature, that 
44 I am not roaring amongst the wretches of the world, in the 
"road and broad way of ruin and destruction — that I am not 
44 wallowing in all manner of sin with the worst of men. It is 
4C notmy good nature.. ..no thank to any thing that I have, that 
tt I am not upon the chain w^ith malefactors, or in a dungeon 
" with witches ; for whatever hell hath, it is in this heart of 
44 mine naturally — a Cain here, a Judas here, nay, a devil here. 
44 The time was, (O that, with an abased heart, I imy ever think 
4< of that time) I never looked after the spiritual good of my soul, 
u or whether I had a soul or no : what would become of me and 
44 it, was the least cf my care. ...the furthest end of my thoughts ; 
4 'nay, loth was I to hear of, or know these things — when they 
44 were revealed, unwilling to receive them, or give way to them 
44 when they were offered : How did I stop mine ears, shut mine 
44 eyes, and harden my heart 1 What ways, means, and devices 
4t did I use and invent, to shut out the light of truth. ...to stop the 
passage and power of the word, that it might not convince me 
— that it might not reform me.. ..might not recall me from my 
evil ways ? How often have I secretly wished that either the 
41 word was taken out of the place, or I from it, that it might not 
44 trouble me in my sinful distempers ; and when I had least 
4 « good, I had most ease, and took the greatest content. Oh, 
44 that such a wretch should thus live, and yet live ! To be thus 
44 sinful ! O that I might be forever abased for it."* 

•Mr. Hooker's Application of Redemption — Vol. I. page 97 — X00. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 239 

Thus the law, as a rule of life, may be improved to the hu- 
miliation of the people of God, in that it may serve to keep fresh 
in their minds their native universal depravity.... their former 
wickedness- — and to discover their remaining sinfulness : And I 
may here observe, that it is believers' peculiar acquaintance with 
the law, in its true meaning, strictness, and purity, that is the 
occasion of their peculiar acquaintance with their own hearts ; 
And while the law daily shows them what they are, it learns 
them more and more their need of a redeemer and sanctifier, 
and daily puts them upon going to God, through Jesus Christ, 
for pardoning mercy and sanctifying grace. The law makes 
way for the gospel ; and a sense of sin, weakness, and unwor- 
thiness, makes Christ and gospel-grace precious, and stirs up a 
man to repentance, faith, and prayer. Deluded, therefore, are 
those poor souls that say, u We must not look into our hearts, 
"nor labor after a sense of our sins and sinfulness -, for that is 
¥ legal, and tends to discouragement : but we must look only to 
" Christ and free grace, and believe and rejoice, and a sense of 
a the love of Christ will humble us :" Just as if the great busi- 
ness of Christ was, to keep men from a sight and sense of their 
ains ; and just as if a man could be truly humbled, without see- 
ing what he is, compared with God and his holy law : But, 
poor souls, they feel a legal, discouraged frame always, when 
they have any sight and sense of their sinfulness, and it damps 
their faith (and if they were but thoroughly sensible of their sin- 
fulness, it would kill their faith) and joy : and, therefore, they 
conclude it is not a good way to look into their hearts ; no good 
can be got by it. But when they do not mind their hearts, bu$ 
look steadily to Xhrist and free grace, (a fancied Christ !) 
firmly believing that all he has done and suffered is for them, 
and realizing the matter to themselves, now they feel sweetly 
and joyfully ; and therefore conclude that this is the way, the 
only way, to get good for our souls ; and hence grow mighty 
enemies to the law.... to self-examination. ...to sense of sin, &c. 
This is the door by which, if any man enters in, he will soon 

become an Antinomian and an Enthusiast,, But, to proceed, 

H H 



240 . TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

Use IV. Of thankfulness. While the law shews us what 
we are, it does, at the same time, make us sensible what we de- 
serve ; while it discovers to us our sinfulness, it makes us feel 
our unworthiness of any good, and desert of all evil : and while 
we feel our unworthiness and ill deserts, our afflictions appear 
far less than we deserve, and our mercies appear more in num- 
ber than the sands, and the kindness and bounty of our God ap- 
pears exceedingly great, and we wonder at his goodness, and 
bless his holy name : And thus the law is of use to promote 
thankfulness, 

God, the great Governor of the world, in testimony of his 
high displeasure against mankind for their apostacy from him, 
has spread miseries and calamities all round the earth : from 
the king upon the throne to the beggar on' the dung-hill, there 
is not one but has a greater or lesser share in the troubles of life ; 
and many have their days filled up with sorrows. And now 
murmurings arise all round this guilty world, and the general 
cry is, " Nobody meets with such troubles as I do.... I am very 
" hardly dealt with!" But the law teaches us that God is holy in 
all these his ways, and righteous in all these his works ; and that 
we are all punished far less than we deserve ; and so our com- 
plaints are silenced, and our hearts quieted into humble submis- 
sion, and it appears infinitely fit, a rebellious world should be 
full of woe, that we might learn that it is an evil and bitter thing 
to forsake the Lord. 

But, at the same time, God, the great Lord of all, out of his 
boundless goodness through Jesus Christ, reprieves mankind 
from the threatened ruin.... strews common mercies with a libe- 
ral hand all round the earth.... sends rain and fruitful seasons, 
and fills the hearts of all, more or less, with food and gladness ; 
and to some he grants his special grace, makes them his children, 
and entitles them to eternal life : And thus he is the Savior of 
all men, but especially oj ^ those that believe... .1. Tim. iv. 10. Yet 
this goodness of God is but little taken notice of in the world. 
But the law, while it discovers what we are, and how unworthy 
and hell-deserving we are, makes us sensible of the freeness 



DISTINGUISHED IROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 241 

and riches of God's grace in these kindnesses : For, while 
we feel that hell is our proper due, every thing that renders our 
case better than that of the damned, we shall accept as a choice 
mercy, and as an effect of free grace ; and so, instead of being 
always in a murmuring and repining disposition, we shall be 
always wondering at the goodness, admiring at the kindness of 
the Lord ; saying, with good Jacob, We are not -worthy of the 
least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast show- 
ed unto thy servants. ...Gen. xxxii. 10— and with the Jewish 
Church, give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good. ..for his 
mercy endureth forever ....Psalm cxxxvi. And we shall always 
find that the more sensible we are of our unworthiness and ill 
desert, the more cause we shall see for thankfulness, let our 
outward circumstances in this life be what they will. But, 

Use V. In the last place, let all that has been said be im- 
proved, by way erf exhortation, to excite and engage the people of 
God more and more to renounce themselves, the world and sin, 
and give up themselves to God, to love him, and live to him, and 
delight in him, with all their hearts, forever. 

You have seen what grounds you have to do so, arising from 
God's infinite greatness, glory, and excellence ; and you have 
been viewing your superadded obligations : And is the Lord 
such a God, and is he your God and Redeemer I O how strong- 
lv are you bound to keep all his commandments ! And what 
is it, O believer, that the Lord thy God requirethof thee, but to 
fear the Lord thy God, to wail: in all his ways, and to love him, 
and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all 
thy soul I And is there not, in keeping his commands, a great 
reward I Did ypuever taste such sweetness as in a life of de- 
votedness to God I And have not your wanderings from him 
cost you many a bitter and mournful hour ? O, how happy 
would you be, if once you could come to it, to have done with 
even- thing else, and to be wholly the Lord's ! Seriously con- 
sider these things : 

1. That you can come to it, to have done with every thing else, 
and he wholly the herd's, at least in a vastly greater degree than 



242 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

ever yet you have.4.*See Phil iii* 13, 14. You actually already 
have God working in you to will and to db....Phil. ii. 13. He 
has always been, as it were, laboring to humble you, and wean 
you from the world, and bring you nearer to himself, to love 
him, live to him, and delight in him, ever since the day you 
first came to know him, by the outward dispensations of his pro- 
vidence, and by the inward strivings of his spirit. He has al- 
ways been purging you, that you might bring forth more fruit... 
John xv. 2 : Yea, this was the very design of Christ's coming 
into the world, that he might deliver you out of the hands of all 
your enemies, and bring you to serve God, xvithout fear, in holi- 
ness and righteousness, all the days of your ///?.. ..Luke i. 74 — 
and that he might redeem you from all iniquity, and purify you 
tq himself that you might be peculiarly his, and zealous of good 
works. ...Tit. ii. 14 : And, for this end, God has already taken, 
as it were, infinite pains with you, and this is what he is contin- 
ually urging you unto, and he declares that he is readier to give 
you his holy spirit, than earthly parents are to give bread to their 
children, and invites, and encourages, and commands you to ask 
....Mat. vii. 7, &c. And will you not now, therefore, arise, 
and put on the whole armour of God, and make your strongest 
efforts to recover from sin to God ? 

God, the great King of heaven and earth, commands you to 
do so— -Jesus, the kind Mediator, invites you to do so- — and the 
holy spirit, the Sanctifier, is ready to help you. Arise, there- 
fore, and be of good courage, for the Lord is with you. Did 
you ever stir up yourself to seek after God in vain, or set about 
a life of greater seriousness, watchfulness, and prayer, and find 
no advantage by it ? Or have you not always said, in the con- 
clusion, that it is good for me to draw near to God.... (Psalm 
ixxiii. 28,) and condemned and hated yourself for your former 
slackness, and been ready to resolve, from your inmost soul, 
that you would call upon the Lord as long as you live P.... Psalm 
cxvi. % 

And let me put it to your conscience, do not you believe, 
that, if now you would gird up the loins of your mind, and quit 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 243 

yourself like a man, and be strong, that, through Christ's 
strengthening of you, you may do all things ? And shall careless- 
ness or stupidity.... shall laziness and sloth,... shall the allure- 
ments or the discouragements of the world or the devil, now, 
after all, hinder you ? What! when you have been redeemed, 
not with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of the Son of 
God — when your prison-door is flung open, and your chains 
knocked off, and you called and invited to come out into the 
glorious liberty of the children of God, and when God is actually 
striving with you already, and stands ready to afford you farther 
help, what, now be hindered ! What, and be hindered by care- 
lessness, unwatchfulness, &c ! What, shall the Savior groan 
in the garden, and die on the cross, and yet you lie sleeping 
here ! What, asleep ! What, content without God in the world ! 
What, when the whole army of prophets, apostles, and martyrs 
have fasted and prayed all their days, and waded through a sea 
of blood at last ! Methinks you had better abandon every mor- 
tal delight, lay aside every weight and the sin that more easily 
besets you, and mourn, and weep, and watch, and pray, and fight, 
and strive, as long as you live, than act so far beneath the dig- 
nity and character of a christian. 

It is but a few in the world that truly know God, and the 
way of access to him, through Jesus Christ, and are in a (spir- 
itual) capacity to live a life of devotedness to God, and commu- 
nion with him : most men are dead in sin : But you hath he 
quickened, and you are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus 
unto good w^orks > and it is God's design you should walk in 
them : you that were without Christ, and without God in the 
world, afar off, are now brought nigh ; and you are no more stran- 
gers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints and 
of the household of God: for this cause I therefore beseech 
you, walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called : 
See this argument enlarged upon in the second, third, and 
fourth chapters of the Epistle to the Ephesians, and your 
duties still more particularly delineated in the fifth and 
sixth. 






244 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

2. Consider, that as your case is circumstanced, it is abso- 
lutely impossible for you ever to find any other resting place but 
God, or ever take any satisfying comfort of your life, but in away 
of devotedness to God and communion with him. The case is 
not with you, O believer, as it is with other men. — You, only, 
have I known of all the families of the earth ; therefore will I 
punish you for all your iniquities, said God to his ancient peo- 
ple.. ..Mic. iii. 2. But the other nations of the earth might wor- 
ship idols, and serve wood and stone, and go on and prosper, 
without being called to a present account ; and so it is as to 
particular persons : Bastards, who have na parents to own them 
and bring them up, may, as for any restraints from parental au- 
thority, do what they will : They that do not belong to God's 
family, may live from home as long as they please, and, because 
they have no interest in his house, may, in respect of divine 
permission, go and live where they please. ...may continue to 
lie out from God : bwixvhom the Lord loveih, he chasteneth; and 
scour geth every son whom he receiveth.*..Hth. xii. 6» Hypo- 
crites may lose their religion, and lie dead whole months and 
years together, and return, with the dog to his vomit, and take 
as much comfort in the world and their lusts as ever ; but it is 
impossible that you should : you can never get your conscience 
asleep as other men's are, or your heart content to lie out from 
God, or wring yourself out of your father's hand, or get out of 
the reach of his rod* 

Solomon once seemed resolved to find another resting place 
for his heart besides God, and something else to take comfort 
in, and he was under the best outward advantages to make a 
thorough trial that ever man was j but he never did, and never 
could : but was always like a bone out of joint,, or like the nee^ 
die of a compass turned aside from its beloved star. Vanity of 
vanities, says the preacher, all is vanity and vexation of spirit : 
And poor David, how was he pained with anguish of spirit for 
the sin whereby he provoked the Lord ? Psalm xxxii. 3, &c... 
While I kept silence, (i. e. before Nuthancame, who brought me 
to an open confession — see ver.,5«) my hones waxed old through 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 245 

my roaring all the day long : For day and night thy hand xuas 
heavy upon me : My moisture is turned into the drought of sum- 
mer : And never did a believer depart from God to seek anoth- 
er resting place, or go away from the fountain of living waters 
to get something else to take comfort in ; but God hedged up 
his way with thorns, and made a wall, that he coidd not find his 
paths : So that, although he followed after his lovers, he never 
overtook them — and though he sought them, he never found 'them; 
but, at last, has been constrained to say, I will go and return to 

my first husband ; for then xvas it better with me than now 

Hos. ii. 6, 7. His backslidings have reproved him, and his xvick- 
edness has corrected him, and made him know, to the breaking 
of his heart, that it is an evil and bitter thing to forsake the Lord 
....Jer. ii. 19 : For as God thus dealt with the Jewish church 
of old, so he does with every believer ; for all God's dealings 
with them were for ensamples ; and they are written for our ad- 
monition, upon whom the ends of the xvorldare come.. A. Cor. x* 1 1. 
And this now being the case, O believer, and you having al- 
ways by your own experience found it so, will you, notwith- 
standing, forsake the Lord ? What fault.... what iniquity do you 
find in God, that you should forsake him ? Has he been a wil- 
derness unto you, or a land of darkness ? Or has he not been 
your father, -ever since the day he took you by the hand to lead 
you, even ever since the day you first knew him ? Or are you 
weary of lightsome, of sweet and happy days, and impatient to 
plunge yourself into darkness, distress, and anguish ? May you 
not expect, if you forsake him and go away from him, to seek 
another resting place, and something else to take comfort in as 
your portion, that he will strip you naked as in the day that you 
was born, and make you desolate, and a terror to yourself, and 
that his anger will smoke against you, and his hand lie heavy 
upon you ? And then will you mourn like the dove in the valley, 
and be troubled, and go bowed doxvn greatly, and roar by reason 
of the disqiuetness of your heart, and wish a thousand and thous- 
and times that you had never forsaken the Lord.... Read Psalm 
xxxviii. — fer. 2d and 3d Chapters — and Hos. ii. Will you 



246 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

not, therefore, bid adieu to all other lords and lovers, and cleave 
unto the Lord with all your heart forever ? for this is your wis- 
dom, and this is your life : Which brings me to add, 

Consider, if you will have done with every thing else, and 
give up yourself to the Lord, to love him, and live to him, and 
be wholly his, then God will be your God sensibly, and you will, 
in spiritual respects, be one of the happiest creatures in this world — 
a hundred times happier than you could possibly be in the way* 
of sin ; you shall have an hundred fold in this present world, be- 
sides eternal life in the world to come. If any man love me, says 
Christ, and keep my commandments,! will love him and manifest 
myself unto him : and / and my father will come and make our 
abode xvith him. ...John xiv. 21, 23. He that dwelleth in these* 
cret place of the most High, shall abide under the shadow of the 
Almighty..., Psalm xci. 1 : And God will be your dwelling-place 
forever. ...Psalm xc. 1. While the nations dash themselves in 
pieces, and all the world is in confusion, and while you pass 
through the fire and through the water, God will be with you — 
and he will always be your light, life, peace, joy, glory, and 
blessedness, in this undone, dreadful world — and your heart 
will be firm and fixed like Mount Zion, that cannot be removed, 
but abideth forever — and nothing shall ever separate you from 
the love of God, neither things present, nor things to come, nor 
height, nor depth, nor life, nor death, nor any other thing : And 
God will certainly give you every thing in this world that is best 
for you, and most for his glory, and you will not desire any more ; 
and all the evil things you may pass through will sensibly work 
together for your good.. ..Mat. vi. 33 — Rom. viii. 28 — 39 — 
Psalm Ixxiii. 25, 26. 

And thus you have, by experience, always found that God 
has dealt with you. I appeal, O believer, to your own con- 
science, that thus it has always been, whenever you have sensi- 
bly from the heart renounced all other things, and given up 
yourself to the Lord, to love him, and to live to him, and to take 
content in him, God has sensibly been a God, and father, and 
portion unto you, and has given you all tilings, which (every 



DISTINGUISHED PROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 247 

tiling considered) you could desire, and sensibly made all tilings 
work together for your good ; whence you have been many a 
time ready to sav, That not a word of all his promises lias ever 
fallen to the ground : And you have actually enjoyed a hundred 
times more comfort in the service of God. ...in devotedness to 
God, and communion with him, than could have been had in 
the service of sin : And will you not now, therefore, be entire- 
ly and forever the Lord's ? O how happy you might be ! And 
what blessed days you might enjoy ! 

4. And that which cannot but touch a filial heart, consider, 
that if you will thus be wholly the Lord's, to love him, and live 
to him, and delight in him, and to do his will, God ivillbe glo- 
rified thereby.. ..it will be to his honor in the xvo rid.... J ohnxv. 3. 
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit : Bui 
are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a pe- 
culiar people ; that ye should shoiv forth the praises of him who 
hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous l'ght....I. Pet. 
ii. 9. God has but few friends in the world. Many that pre- 
tend to be his friends, are a great dishonor to him, and disgn 
to religion : By their means his name is blasphemed, and his 
ways are evilly spoken of ; and, in general, his honor is ev< 
where trodden down in the dust. And can you stand by un- 
concerned ?...yea, can you look on without your heart bleeding 
within vou ? O, therefore, be serious... be humble... be meek, ho- 
ly, and heavenly.. .be peace-makers, and merciful.. .be kind and 
tender-hearted, condescending and obliging, and abound in ev- 
erv good work : for vou are the salt of the earth, and the ' 
of the world : O, therefore, live so, as that your Fatfu r, Wi 
is in heaven, may be glorified. ...Mat. v. 13 — 16. 

To conclude, will you not now, therefore, determine, from 
thisdav forward, to be wholly the Lord's, and from this day be- 
gin to live to God in better earnest than ever ? God is n 
help you. You will, as to present comfort, be undone, 
you do not live to God ; and peace, and glory, and blessed- 
ness is before you, if you do ; and God, even youi ( od, will 

be glorified : And if vou are now ready, by the gi . . 

I i 



248 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

God, to hearken unto this advice, then take these two direc- 
tions : — 

1. Lay aside every weight, and the sins which more easily be- 
set j/0&....Heb. xii. 1. In a serious and sweet hour, when vou 
get alone, and mourn, and pray, and give up yourself to God, 
and think and resolve you will now be forever the Lord's, you 
are wont, upon self-examination, and a review of past times, to 
see and say, a This, that, and the other thing, has been the sin- 
C4 ful occasion, time after time, of my losing a serious, gracious 
" frame of heart— and by such and such sinful means I have 
u gradually lost a sense of divine and eternal things, and so have 
" wandered from God, and laid a foundation for darkness and 
u sorrow. O my carelessness ! O that I had prayed more in 
u secret ! O that I had spent precious time better, &c. &x." — 
These now are the weights, and these the sins which easily be- 
set you-— and these you must lay aside forever, if you design to 
be the Lord's indeed, and to make a business of religion to pur- 
pose : But perhaps you will say, u My" worldly business.. ..my 
" necessary cares, and the common duties of life, are sometimes 
u the very things, and these I ought not to lay aside ; and what 
" shall I do in this case ?" — I answer, that, at another time, 
the necessary cares, business, and duties of life, you find to be 
no hinderances at all — even at such times when you do all out of 
love to God, and for God, with singleness of heart. If you 
will, therefore, but always go about the common duties of life 
in such a manner, they will never be any clog to you. What 
you have, therefore, to do in the case, is not to lay aside that 
which is your duty, but to lay aside your wrong ends and aims : 
and thus you must lay aside every weight : But, 

2. If you design to be religious in good earnest, then beeare- 
ful to use all proper means, and do every proper thing that has a 
tendencxj to promote your spiritual life : Every proper thing, I 
say, to guard against those anti-scriptural methods which enthu- 
siasts are wont to take, and by which, above all things, their 
false affections are promoted, but which have a direct tendency 
to kill the divine life. In a serious hour of sweet retirement, 












DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 249 

and in happy days when you are nearest to God, and enjoy most 
communion with him, and have your senses most accurate to 
discern between good and evil, you are wont to see and say — 
u O how blessed I might be, if I did always keep in this narrow 
" way which now lies open plain before me — if I were always 
" serious, watchful, prayerful.... always reading, or meditating, 
" and looking to God, and keeping my heart, and improving ev- 
" ery precious moment of my time wisely for God," &c. — 
Well, well, O believer, this is the way — walk in it, and you shall 
be ike a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth 
his fruit in his season, whose leaf never withers ; and whatsoever 
you do shall prosper : And, after a few more days, and weeks, 
and months, and years spent in prayer, and faith, and holiness, 
in this your pilgrimage state, you shall come and sit down with 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God, and dwell 
forever wkh the Lord. Amen, 

Now, the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our* 
Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood 
of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work, 
to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his 
sight, through Jesus Christ : to whom be glory forever and 
ever. Ail en* 



Crue Eeltgton Delineated 



DISCOURSE II. 



SHEWING THE NATURE OF THE GOSPEL, AND OF A GENUINE 
COMPLIANCE WITH IT. 



JOHN III. 16. 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever 
be.ieveth in him y should not perish , but have everlasting life. 

THE INTRODUCTION. 

1 HE grand question before us, is, Vfhat is true religion ? 
And this is the general answer — It consists in a real conformity 
to the law, and in a genuine compliance with the gospel* What 
is implied in a real conformity to the law, has been already shown 
in the former discourse ; and we come now to consider where- 
in a genuine compliance with the gospel does consist. From 
our Savior's mouth we had before a brief summary of the law ; 
and now, from our Savior's mouth, we have a brief summary of 
the gospel, in these comprehensive words, God so loved the 
world, &c. 

Nicodemus came to him for instruction, believing him to be 
a teacher sent from God. Our Savior begins immediately to 
inculcate upon him the necessity of regeneration and faith. — 
We are sinners.... are naturally dead in sin — and, therefore, must 
be born again... .be recovered to the divine image in the temper 
of our minds, and so be made spiritually alive : We are guil- 
ty.. ..we need pardoning mercy at the hands of the great Gov- 
ernor of the world ; but he will grant it only through the Mc~ 
diator he has appointed : in him, therefore, must we believe — 
on his merits and mediation must we depend. Nicodemus 



252 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

could hardly understand the doctrine of the new birth ; and our 
Savior intimates that the mysteries of our redemption, by the 
blood of Christ, were like to be still more difficult to him : We 
can easily understand worldly things, for they are agreeable to 
the temper of our minds, and suit the taste and relish of our 
hearts ; but we are blind to things spiritual and divine. ...are 
slow of heart to understand them, they not suiting the temper 
and relish of our hearts, and we being in a disposition to dis- 
relish things of such a nature : therefore, our Savior observes 
to Nicodemus, (ver. 19.) This is the condemnation, that light 
is come into the world, but men love darkness rather than light, 
became their deeds are evil. We are in a state of rebellion. ...at en- 
mity against God, and under his wrath ; and yet ready, through 
ctir darkness, to flatter ourselves that all is well— and so are se- 
cure and at ease. Light is come into the world, discovering 
our disease and our remedy, but we love our disease, and loathe 
the remedy ; and, therefore, hate the light, and will not come 
to it : And thus our Savior teaches Nicodemus wherein true 
religion consists, and points out the aversion of mankind to 
it : Nor is there any thing that will discover our aversion so 
plainly as to set true religion in its own light ; for when we see 
clearly what it is, we may perceive how we stand affected to- 
wards it ; but otherwise we may be easily mistaken — may ima- 
gine that we love true religion, when, indeed, we only love the 
false image we have framed in our own fancy. Regeneration 
andfaith, these two great essentials, wherein all religion radi- 
cally consists, are the things our Savior inculcates upon his new 
disciple. Christ loved to lay the foundation well : He was not 
fond of converts, unless their conversion was sound : And, in- 
deed, all our religion is good for nothing, if our nature be not 
renewed : and all our communion with God is but fancy, if we 
are strangers to Christ ; for he is the way, the truth, and the life, 
and no man comes to the Father but by him. But to proceed to 
the words of the text, God so loved the world, &c. 

God — i. e. God the Father, the first person in the ever- 
blessed trinity, who sustains the dignity and majesty of God- 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 255 

head, and is eminently Lord of heaven and earth, (Mat. xi. 25.) 
and prime agent in the works of creation and providence. ...in 
governing the world... .in redeeming, sanctifying, and saving 
of sinners. ...Rom. xi. 36. That there are three persons in the 
God-head.. ..the Father, the Son, and the Holy-Ghost, and that 
these three are one God, the scriptures do abundantly teach..., 
(Afe. xxviii. 19 — II. Cor. xiii. 13 — I. Johnx. 7 J) And this 
doctrine we must believe, or we cannot understand the gospel. 
Hoiv they are three, and how they are one, is not revealed, nor 
is it necessary for us to know : but that there are three persons 
in the God-head, and yet but one God, we must believe ; and 
what characters they sustain, and what parts they act in the 
affair of our salvation, we must understand. The gospel rep- 
resents God the Father as sovereign Lord of heaven and earth 
....as righteous Governor of the world.. ..as giving laws to his 
creatures. ...as revealing his wrath against ail transgressions : 
He is represented as being injured and offended by our sins, 
and concerned to maintain the honor of his majesty.... of his 
law and government, and sacred authority : He is represented 
as having designs of mercy towards a sinful, guilty, ruined 
world ; and as contriving and proposing a method of recovery : 
He is represented as one seated on a throne of grace, reconcilea- 
ble through Jesus Christ, and seeking to reconcile the world 
to himself by Christ, ordering pardon and peace to be proclaim- 
ed through a guilty world, to any and all who will return to 
him in the way prescribed. The gospel represents God the Son 
as being constituted Mediator by his Father, that, in ?.nd by 
him, he might open a way to accomplish his designs of mercy 
towards a guilty world, consistent with the honor of his maJ€ tj 
....of his holiness and justice. ...of his law and government* 
His Father appoined him to the ofLIcc\and he freely ook 

it : His Father sent him into this world to enter upon the dif- 
ficult work, and he willingly came. lie jvqs m< 

dt among us : Here he lived, and h died, in the capa- 

city of a Mediator. He arose....he a Lintoh and 

sits now at his Father's right hand, Gj r, exalt- 



254 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

ed to the highest honor — made Lord of all things, and Judge 
of the world. And now we are to have access to God by him, 
as our Mediator, high Priest, Intercessor, and Advocate, who 
has made complete atonement for sins in the days of his abase- 
ment, and has now sufficient interest in the court of heaven. 
The gospel represents God the Holy-Ghost as being sent of the 
Father as prime agent, and by the Son as Mediator, in the 
character of an enlightener and sanctifier, in order to bring 
sinners effectually to see and be sensible of their sin, guilt, and 
ruin.. ..to believe the gospel. ...to trust in Christ, and to return 
home to God through him : And it is his office to dwell in be- 
lievers. ...to teach and lead them. ...to sanctify, quicken, strength- 
en, and comfort them, and to keep them through faith unto 
salvation. The Father is God by nature, and God by office : 
The Son is God by nature, and Mediator by office : The Spirit 
is God by nature, and Sanctifier by office. The Father, as 
Governor, Law-giver, Judge, and Avenger, has all power in 
heaven and earth, in and of himself.... Mat. xi. 25. The Son, 
as Mediator, derives all his authority from the Father.... Mat. 
xi. 27. The Holy Spirit acts as being sent by them both.... 
by the Father, as supreme Governor, dealing with a sinful, 
guilty world, through a Mediator — by the Son, as Mediator, 
negociating a reconciliation between God and man....y^/zn xiv. 
16. The Father maintains the honor of the God-head, and of 
his government, and displays his grace, while he ordains that 
sin shall be punished, the sinner humbled, and brought back to 
God, and into a subjection to his will, and in that way be par- 
doned, and finally saved. Sin is punished, in the Son, as Me- 
diator, standing in the room of the guilty : And the sinner is 
humbled, brought back to God, and into a subjection to his 
will, by the Holy Spirit ; and, in this way, is pardoned and 
saved : And thus the Son and the Spirit honor the Father, as 
supreme Governor, and all join in the same design to discoun- 
tenance sin, humble the sinner, and glorify grace. — Thus far 
briefly of the doctrine of the trinity. Right apprehensions of 
God help us to understand the law, and right apprehensions of 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 255 

the trinity, will help us to understand the gospel : Not how they 
are three persons, and yet but one God, the manner of which 
is not needful to be known ; but the offices and characters they 
sustain, and the different parts they act in the great affair of 
saving sinners. God (says the text) so loved tfie xuorld, that he 
gave his only begotten Son ; that whosoever believeth in him, 
should not perish, but have everlasting life : i. e. God the Father, 
the great Governor of the world, whom we had offended by sin, 

So loved the xvorld — i. e. with a love of benevolence. Es- 
teem us he could not ; for we were worthless and vile : To de- 
light in us it was impossible ; for we were altogether odious 
and abominable. But to have a good will towards us, or a 
will to do us good, this he might have, although we were sinful 
and guilty : Not, indeed, from any motive in us ; for if we 
were viewed, and our temper and circumstances considered, 
there was not to be seen one motive to pity, no, not the least j 
but every motive to indignation and wrath. However, from 
motives within himself, he might will to do us good, notwith- 
standing our sin and guilt. The self-moving goodness of his 
nature did excite him, from the good pleasure of his will, to the 
praise of the glory of his grace, to design mercy towards a sin- 
ful, guilty, ruined world. God so loved the world. 

The world — i. e. all mankind.... all the posterity of Adam: 
For what follows, is evidently true, of every individual ; — That 
he gave his onhj begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him, 
thould not perish, but have everlasting life. 

So loved — i. e. so inconceivably.... so unspeakably, 

That he gave his onhj begotten Son — i. e. of his mere, pure 
goodness, constituted him to be a Mediator.. ..appointed him 
to be a Redeemer and Savior, to make atonement for sin, and 
purchase divine favors, and so to open a way for sinners to re- 
turn to God with safety, and for God to show mercy to them 
with honor. God so loved the xvorld, i. e. all the race of Adam, 
that he gave his only begotten Son, immediately upon the apos- 
tacy of mankind; for then was this seed of the xvoman promised, 

(Gen. iii. 15) that all, being, by nature, children ofxvralli, might 

K K 



256 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

be prevented by divine goodness* God saw all involved in 
sin, and guilt, and ruin, by Adam's first sin : And so he provi- 
ded a Savior for all ; that whosoever believes in him, should not 
perish, but have everlasting life. 

Should not perish. — He viewed all mankind as sinful and 
guilty.... lost, undone, and perishing, i. e. exposed to the wrath 
of God, and curse of the law.. ..to all the miseries of this life.. ..to 
death itself, and to the pains of hell forever : And he gave his 
only begotten Son to be a Savior ; 

That whosoever believeth in him — i. e. that ventures upon 
his atonement.. ..his worth and merits. ...his mediation and in- 
tercession, for divine acceptance ; so as to be thence embold- 
ened to return home to God, upon the invitation of the gospel. 
That all such should not perish — but 

Have everlasting life — i. e. the everlasting in-dwelling 
of the holy spirit, as a sanctifier and comforter, to be a never- 
failing spring of a new, a spiritual and divine life — everlasting 
union and communion with Christ, and the everlasting favor 
and enjoyment of God through him. 

Thus we have, in these words, a hmt£ view of the glorious 
gospel of the blessed God. And from them we may learn, (1 .) 
That God, the great Governor of the world, considered man- 
kind as being in a perishing condition, i. e. sinful, guilty, justly 
condemned, helpless, and undone. (2.) That it was merely 
from motives within himself, that he has done what he has for 
their recovery out of this state. (3.) That he has constituted 
his Son a Mediator, Redeemer, and Savior, that through him 
sinners might be saved. (4.) That he has appointed faith in 
Christ, to be the condition of salvation. Here, therefore, I 
will endeavor to show, 

I. Upon what grounds it was, that God, the great Governor 
of the world, did consider mankind as being in a perishing con- 
dition, i. e. sinful, guilty, justly condemned, helpless, and un- 
done. 

II. What were the motives which excited him to do what he 
has done for their recovery. 



DISTINGUISHED PROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 25 7 

III. What necessity there was of a Mediator and Recce 
and how the way to life has been opened by him whom God 
has provided, 

IV. What is the true nature of saving faith in him : And 
so, by the whole, to explain the nature of the gospel, and of a 
genuine compliance therewith : And in the last place, 

V. Will consider the promise of everlasting life to those who 
believe. 

SECTIOX I. 

SHOWING THE REASONS V.'HY GOD DOES. IN THE GOSPEL, CON- 
SIDER MANKIND AS BEING IN A PERISHING CONDITION. 

I. I am to show upon what grounds It veds, that God, the 
great Governor of the world, did 'consider mankind as being in a 
perishing conditional, e. sinful, guilty, justly condemned, help- 
less and undone. That he did consider mankind as being in 
a perishing condition, is evident, because he gave his only be- 
gotten Son, that they rr.ight not perish who should believe in 
him. If we were not in a perishing condition, his giving h'13 
Son to save us from perdition, had been needless : and his pre- 
tending great love and kindness in doing so, had been 
to affront us — to make as if we were undone creatu; 
when we were not ; and as if we were much beholden to him 
for his goodness, when we could have done well enough with- 
out it : And the more he pretends of his great love and kind- 
ness, the greater must the affront be. So that, however 
look upon ourselves, it is certain that God, who sees all thii 
as being what they are, did actually look upon us as in a perish* 
ing, lost, undone condition : And if he considered us as bei 
in such a condition, it must have been because he looked up 
us as sinful, guilty, justiv condemned, and altogether helpless ; 
for otherwise we were not in a perishing condition. Ii we 
could have helped ourselves a little, we should not have need- 
ed one to save us, but only to help us to save ourselves : but 
our salvation, in scripture, is always attributed wholly to God ; 
and God eve ry where takes all the glory to himself, .gh, 

in very deed, he had deserve^ . i. 3 — G, and ii. 1 



258 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

— 9) ; so that it is certain, God did look upon mankind as be- 
ing in a perishing condition, sinful, guilty, justly condemned, 
and altogether helpless : and, considering us in such a condition, 
he entered upon his designs of mercy and grace ; and therefore 
he every where magnifies his love, and looks upon us as infi- 
nitely beholden to him, and under infinite obligations to ascribe 
to him all the glory and praise, even quite all : That no Jlesh 
should glory in his presence — but he that ghrielh, let him glory 
in the Lord....!. Cor. i. 29, 31. 

It is of great importance, therefore, that we come to look up- 
on ourselves as being in such a perishing condition too ; for 
otherwise it is impossible we should ever be in a disposition 
thankfully to accept gospel-grace, as it is offered unto us. We 
shall rather be offended, as thinking the gospel casts reproach 
upon human nature, in supposing us to be in such a forlorn con- 
dition as to stand in a perishing need of having so much done 
for us ; — as the Jews of old scorned it, when Christ told them. 
If they xvould become his disciples, they should knoxv the truth, 
and the truth should make them free. They took it as an affront, 
and were ready to say, " What ! Just as if we were in bon- 
u dage ! Indeed, no. We were never in bondage to any man : 
a We have Abraham to our father, and God is our Father ; but 
u thou hast a devil". ...John viii. 31 — 48. They would not 
understand him.... they were all in a rage : And so it is like to 
be with us, with regard to the methods which God has taken 
with us in the gospel, unless we look upon ourselves as he does 
....so wretched and miserable.. ..so poor, blind, and naked. ...so 
helpless, lost, and undone. It is the want of this self-acquain- 
tance, together with a fond notion of our being in a much bet- 
ter case than we are, that raises such a mighty cry against the 
doctrines of grace, through a proud, impenitent, guilty world. 

And since God dots thus look upon us to be in such a perishing 

condition, and upon this supposition enters on his designs of 

mercy and grace, here now, therefore, does the question recur, 

Upon what grounds is it that he considers us as being in such a 

perishing condition .^....Grounds he must have, and good grounds 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 259 

too, or he would never thus look upon us. If we may rightly 
understand what they are, perhaps we may come to look upon 
ourselves as he does ; and then the grace of the gospel will be- 
gin to appear to us in the same light it does to him. — The 
grounds, then, are as follow : 

1. God, the great Governor of the world, does, in the gos- 
pel, consider mankind as being guilty of Adair? s first sin, and, 
on that account, to be in a perishing condition. In Adam all 
died, (I. Cor. xv. 22) ; but death is the wages of sin, (Rom.vi. 
23) : therefore, in Adam all sinned ; for by one man sin enter- 
edinto thexvorld, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all 
men, for that all have sinned, i. e. sinned in Adam.... (Rom. v. 
12) ; for (ver. 19.) by one maris disobedience many were made 
sinners : And, accordingly, by the offence Gf one, judgment came 
upon all men to condemnation : and hence ail are, by nature, 
children of w rath..., (Eph. ii. 3.) 

Ob j. But hoxv can we be guilty of Adam^s first sin ? It xvas 
he committed it, and not we : and that without our consent, and 
a long time before we were born. 

Ans. Adam, by divine appointment, stood and acted as our 
public head : He stood a representative in the room of all his 
posterity ; and, accordingly, acted not only for himself, but for 
them. His sustaining this character rendered him a type of 
Christ, the second Adam, who has laid down his life in the room 
and stead of sinners : And his being spoken of in scripture as 
a type of Christ, with respect to this character of a public head, 
proves that he did actually sustain such a character.... (Rom v. 
14) : And, therefore, as, by the obedience of Christ, many 
are made righteous ; so, by the disobedience of Adam, many 
are made sinners — (ver 19,) i. e. by the imputation of Christ's 
obedience, believers become legally righteous — righteous in 
the sight of God, by virtue of an established constitution ; and 
so have the reward of eternal life : So, by the imputation of 
Adam's first sin, his posterity, by ordinary generation) became 
legally sinners — sinners in the sight, of God, by virtue of an es- 
tablished constitution, and so are exposed to the punishment of 



260 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, 4ND 

eternal death, the proper wages of sin. Now, it is true, w* 
did not personally rise in rebellion against God in that first 
transgression, but he who did do it was our representative. — 
We are members of the community he acted for, and God con- 
siders us as such ; and, therefore, looks upon us as being legally 
guilty, and liable to be dealt with accordingly — and so, on this 
account, in a perishing condition : But, perhaps,some will still be 
ready to say, " And where is the justice of all this ?" Methinks 
the following considerations, if we will be disinterestedly in> 
partial, may set the matter in a satisfying light : 

(1 .) That the original constitution made with Adam, as to him- 
self personally considered, was holy, just, and good* 

(2.) That if all his posterity had been put under the same con- 
stitution, one by one, from age to age, as they came into being, to 
act for themselves, it had also been holy, just, and good. 

(3.) That it was, in the nature of the thing, in all respects, as 
well for our interest, that Adam should be made our public head 
and representative, to act not only for himself, but for all his pos- 
terity, as that we should each stand and act for himself singly t - 
and, in some respects, better. 

(4.) That, in such a case, God, as supreme Lord and sovereign 
Governor of the whole world, had full power and rightful author- 
ity to constitute Adam our common head and public representa- 
tive, to act in our behalf — Let us, therefore, distinctly consider 
these particulars : 

(1 .) It is to be noted, the original constitution made with Ad- 
am, (Gen. ii. 17.) as to himself personally considered, was holy, 
just, and good, as will appear if we consider the circumstances 
he was under, antecedent to that constitution or covenant : For, 

In the first place, antecedent to that covenant-transaction, he 
was under infinite obligations, from the reason and nature of 
things, to love God with all his heart, and obey him in every 
thing. From the infinite excellence and beauty of the divine 
nature, and from God's original, entire right to him, as his crea- 
ture, and absolute authority over him, as his subject, did his in- 
finite obligation so to do necessarily arise. It was fit.. ..it was 



DISTINGUISHED TRO^I ALL COUNTERFEITS, 261 

infinitely fit and right that he should look upon the infinitely 
glorious God, his Maker and Governor, as being what he was, 
and as having such a right to him, and authority over him, as he 
had, and that he should be affected and act accordingly, antece- 
dent to the consideration of any covenant-transaction : And, no 
doubt, this was actually the case with him before that covenant 
was made ; for he was created in the image of God, (Gen. :. 27.) 
And so his heart was full of a sense of his glory, and of ad- 
miring and adoring thoughts : He felt that he was not his own, 
but the Lord's — and he loved him, and was entirely devoted to 
him, in the temper of his mind, conscious of the infinite obliga- 
tions he was under thereto. And farther, it is certain that God 
was the sole Lord and owner of this lower world, and 
all things in it ; and that Adam had no right to any thing but 
by a divine grant : And it is certain it was fit that Adam 
should be put into a state of trial, and that God had authority 
to do it. 

And now, since he was naturally under such infinite obliga- 
tions to love and obey God, his Maker.. ..God, the supreme Lord 
and sovereign Governor of all things — since he had no right 
to anv of the trees of the garden, but by the free grant of God ; 
and since it was fit he should be put into a state of trial, and 
God had authority to do it : since these things were so, it is ev- 
ident that constitution was holy — In the day thou eatest thereof 
thou shalt surely die. God had a right to make such a law, for 
Adam was his, and all the trees in the garden were his, and he 
was, by nature, God, supreme Lord and sovereign Gov- 
ernor of the whole world, and it was fitting he should act as 
such — and it was infinitely fit that Adam should have a sacred 
regard to his authority in ail things, because he was such — and 
that his eternal welfare should lie at stake, and be suspended 
upon his good behavior : And, no doubt, Adam viewed things 
thus, and was thoroughly sensible that God had a right to pro- 
hibit that tree upon pain of death, and that he was under infi- 
nite obligations to have a most sacred regard to his will in that 
matter. — Thus that constitution was holy. 



262 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

And if we consider, in the next place, that, as has been ob- 
served, Adam was under infinite obligations to love God, his 
Maker, with all his heart, and obey him in every thing, result- 
ing from the very reason and nature of things, it will appear 
that the threatening was just ; and no more than what he must 
have expected, had he fallen into any sin whatsoever, antece- 
dent to any constitution at all* Adam, in a state of pure nature, 
i. e. prior to any covenant-transaction, was under infinite obli- 
gations to perfect love and perfect obedience ; the least defect, 
therefore, must have beenjnnnitely sinful ; and so, by conse- 
quence, must have deserved an infinite punishment : And it 
v/as meet that God, the Governor of the world, should punish 
sin according to its real desert : in the nature of things it was 
meet, antecedent to any -express declaration of his design to do 
so ; and Adam knew all this : He knew what obligations he 
was under to God, to love him with all his heart, and obey him 
in every thing ; and, by consequence, he was conscious to him- 
self that the least defect would be an infinite evil, and so would 
deserve an infinite punishment ; and he knew that it was the 
nature of God to render to every one according to his deserts : 
he was certain, therefore, from the reason and nature of things, 
antecedent to that threatening, that the least sin would expose 
him to an infinite punishment* From this view of the case, it 
is plain, that that threatening was just, and Adam did most 
perfectly approve of it as such. It was no more than it was rea- 
sonable for Adam to expect, and meet for God to inflict, for 
any transgression of the law of nature : And it was against 
the law of nature for Adam to eat the forbidden fruit, when 
once God had said he should not. It was practically denying 
God's supremacy.. ...casting off his authority, and actu- 
ally setting up his will against the Lord's, If any sin, there- 
fore, deserved an infinite punishment, surely that did. 

Remark. And here, by the way, from this view of the case, 
we may gain a certain knowledge of what God meant by Thou 
ahalt surely die ; or, as it is in the original, In dying thou shall 
die ; and may be certain how Adam understood it. He diH 



DISTINGUISHED TROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 263 

not mean that Adam should be annihilated ; fGr such a punish- 
ment was not equal to the crime : He might, without injustice, 
have annihilated Adam, had he remained innocent ; for he that 
gives Being, of his mere good pleasure, may, of his mere good 
pleasure, take it away again : nor could Adam have brought 
God into debt by a thousand- years' perfect obedience ; for he 
owed himself, and all he could do, to God his Maker.. ..i?s?w. xi. 
35. God meant to punish Adam according to his deserts ; 
but annihilation would not have been such a punishment : and 
therefore it is certain that this was not what God meant. Adam 
knew that sin was an infinite evil, and so deserved an infinite 
punishment, and that it was meet it should be punished accor- 
ding to its deserts, and that it was the nature of God to do so ; 
but annihilation was not such a punishment, and Adam could 
not but know it : and therefore Adam could not understand 
death in this sense. God meant to punish Adam according to 
his deserts. And what did he deserve ? Why, an infinite pun- 
ishment ; i. e. to have all good taken away, and all kinds of evil 
come upon him forever. Well, what good had Adam in pos- 
session ? Why, he had a natural life, resulting from the union 
of his soul and body, with all the delights and sweetnesses 
thereof ; and he had a spiritual life, resulting from the gracious 
influences of the holy spirit, and consisting of the image of God, 
and sense of his love, with all the delights and sweetnesses 
thereof ; and he was formed for immortality, and so was I:. 
capacity of eternal life and blessedness, in glorifying God, and 
enjoying him : Here, therefore, he was capable of a natural, a 
spiritual, and an eternal death — to have soul and body rent 
asunder forever— -to be forsaken by the spirit of God, and given 
up to the power of sin and satan forever, and to have God Al- 
mighty become his everlasting enemy. All this he deserved ; 
and therefore God meant all this : All this he knew he should 
deserve ; and therefore he could not but understand the threat- 
ening to comprehend all this. Besides, that which makes it 
still more certain, that this was the meaning of that first threat- 
ening, is, that God has since verv expresslv threatened eternal 

L t. 



264 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

death as the wages of the least sin*... Rom* i. 18 — Gal. iii. 10 — 
Mat. xxv. 46 ; (and the word death itself is plainly used to 
signify eternal death and misery.... Rom. vi. 23 — Rom. viii. 13) : 
So that either now he means to punish sin more than it de- 
serves, or he intended then to punish sin less than it deserved ; 
or else eternal death was what he always meant, by threatening 
death as the wages of sin. If he means to punish sin now more 
than he did then, it is too much now, or not enough then ; both 
which are equally contrary to the reason and nature of things, 
and equally inconsistent with the impartial justice of the divine 
nature, which always inclines him to render to every one accor- 
ding to his deserts.... nor more, nor less: and therefore eternal 
death was intended in that first threatening : But this by the 
way. 

And, lastly, as that constitution was holy and just, so also it 
was good ; because it put Adam (personally considered) under 
better circumstances than he was before : For, while in a state 
of pure nature, perfect obedience could not have given him any 
title to eternal life ; but, as was said before, God might have 
annihilated him at pleasure, after a hundred, or a thousand, or 
ten thousand years, without any injustice to him....(y#£ xxii. 2 
— Rom. xi. 35.) But now, under this constitution, he had an 
assurance of eternal life upon perfect obedience : For, inas- 
much as God threatened death in case he should sin, it is evi- 
dently implied that he should have lived forever in case he had 
been obedient : So that there was infinite goodness manifested 
to Adam (personally considered) in this constitution — eternal 
life being thus promised, of mere unmerited bounty. And be- 
sides, after a while, his state of trial would have been at an end, 
and he confirmed in an immutable state of holiness and happi- 
ness ; of which confirmation the tree of life seems to have been 
designed as a sacramental sign. ...Gen. iii. 22 — Rev. ii. 7, and 
xxii. 14 : Whereas, had he remained in a state of pure nature, 
he must have been everlastingly in a state of probation, had it 
pleased his Maker to have continued him in being : So that, 
upon the whole, it is plain, this constitution, as to Adam, peiv 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 265 

sonally considered, was holy, just, and good ; and Adam had 
great reason, with all his heart, to give thanks to God his Maker, 
for his goodness and condescension, that he would be so kind, 
and stoop so low, as to enter into such a covenant with a worm 
of the dust : and, no doubt, he did so, with the sincerest grati- 
tude. We proceed, therefore, to consider^ 

(2.) That if all his posterity had been put under this same con- 
stitution, one by one, from age to age, as they came into being, to 
act singly for themselves, it had also, as to them, been holy, 
just, and good : As it was better for Adam than a state of 
pure nature, so it would have been, for the same reason, better 
for us. We (had we remained in a state of pure nature, i. e. 
without any constitution at all) should have been, each one of 
us, under the same infinite obligation to perfect obedience to the 
law of nature, and equally exposed to the same infinite punish- 
mentfor the least sin, as he was, and as much without a title to 
life upon perfect obedience, and as liable to be everlastingly in 
a state of probation : And, therefore, such a constitution would 
have been as great a favor to us, as it was to him ; and we 
equally under obligations to gratitude and thankfulness to God 
therefor. But, 

(3.) It wasasxuellfor our interest, in the nature of the thing, 
in all respects, that Adam should be made a public head and rep- 
resentative, to act not only for himself, but for all his posterity, as 
if rue had been put to act singly for ourselves ; and, in some respects, 
better : For Adam was, in the nature of the thing, in all respects, 
as likely to stand as any of us should have been, and, in some 
respects, more likely ; for he had as good natural powers — as 
much of the image of God, and as great a sense of his obliga- 
tions, as any of us should have had ; and had, in all respects, 
as many motives to watchfulness ; and, in some respects, more 
— in that not only his own everlasting welfare lay at stake, but 
also the everlasting welfare of all his posterity too* Besides, he 
had just received the law from God's own mouth, and he was in a 
state of perfect manhood when his trial began : So that, upon 
the whole, in the nature of the thing, it was more likely he 



256 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, ANB 

should stand than that any of us should ; and, therefore, it was 
more for our interest that he should act for us, than we for 
ourselves : But if we had been put to act singly for ourselves, 
under such a constitution, it had been much better than to be 
left in a state of pure nature, and so we should have had great 
cause of thankfulness to God for his condescension and good- 
ness ; but to have Adam appointed to act for us, was, in the 
nature of the thing, still more to our advantage ; on the account 
of which, we have, therefore, still greater cause of thankfulness 
to the good Governor of the world. It is infinite wickedness, 
therefore, to fly in the face of Almighty God, and charge him 
with unrighteousness, for appointing Adam our head and rep- 
resentative. We ought rather to say, " The constitution was 
"holy, just, and good — yea, very good ; but to us belongs 
"shame and confusion of face, for that we have sinned." 

Obj. But God knew how it would turn out — -he knew Adam 
would fall, and undo himself and all his race* 

Ansa When God called Abraham, and chose him and his 
seed for his peculiar people, to give them distinguishing advan- 
tages and privileges, and that professedly under the notion of 
great kindness and unspeakable gGodness ; yet, at the same 
time, he knew how they would turn out — how they would be 
a stiff-necked people, and would kill his Prophets, his Son and 
Apostles, and so be cast off from being his people. He knew 
all this beforehand ; yet that altered not the nature of the thing 
at all — did not diminish his goodness, nor lessen his grace. 
And the Jewish nation, at this day> have reason to say, " The 
" Lord's ways have been ways of goodness, and blessed be his 
"name ; but to us belong shame and confusion of face, for 
w that we have sinned." 

Ob j. Tes, but God decreed that Adam should fall. 

Ans. He did not decree that Adam should fall, any more 
than he did that the seed of Abraham should turn out such a 
stiff-necked, rebellious race. He decreed to permit both to do 
as they did ; but this neither lessens his goodness, nor their 
sin : for God is not obliged to put his creatures under such cir- 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 26T 

eumstances as that they shall never be tempted nor tried ; and 
when they are tried, he is not obliged to keep them from fall- 
ing ; it is enough that they have sufficient power to stand, if 
they will ; — which was the case with Adam. Besides, God 
had wise ends in permitting Adam to fall ; for he designed to 
take occasion therefrom, to display all his glorious perfections 
in the most illustrious manner : So that we may say of it (and 
should, if we loved God above ourselves) as Joseph does oi'his 
brethren's selling him — Ye meant it for evil, but the Lord meant 
it for good : So here, satan meant it for evil, but God meant it 
for good ; even to bring much glory to his great name : there- 
fore be still, and adore his holy sovereignty — and, at the same 
time, acknowledge that the constitution, in its own nature, was 
holy, just, and good — yea, very good. These things being 
considered, I proceed to add, 

(4.) That, in such a case, God, as supreme Lord and sovereign 
Governor of the whole world \liad full pozver and rightful author- 
ity to constitute Adam, our common head and public representa- 
tive, to act in our behalf; for, as the case stood, there could be 
no reasonable objection against it. Adam was not held up to 
hard terms : The threatening, in case of disobedience, was 
strictly just : The constitution, in its own nature, was vastly 
for the interest of Adam and of all his race. Adam was alrea- 
dy constituted the natural head of all mankind ; for God blessed 
him, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.... 
Gen. i. 28. All his race, had they then existed, would, if they 
had been wise for themselves, readily have consented to such a 
constitution, as being well adapted to the general good : (So 
men are wont to do when their estates lie at stake, or their lives ; 
if they think that an attorney is likely to manage the case for 
them better than they can for themselves, they will choose him, 
and venture the case with him, rather than with themselves) : 
So that the only question is, whether God had, in so unexcep- 
tionable a case, full power and rightful authority to constitute 
Adam a public head, to stand as a moral representative for all 
his race, and act in their behalf, so thai they should stand or fail 



268 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

with him ; Or, in other words, (for it all comes to the same 
thing), whether, in any case whatsoever, God has full power 
and rightful authority to appoint one to stand and act in the room 
of another, so as to lay a foundation for the conduct of the one 
to be so imputed to the other, as that both shall stand and fall 
together : And so it is as much of a question, whether God had 
power and authority to constitute the second Adam a public 
head as the first. If God had not full power and rightful au- 
thority to appoint the first Adam to be our public head and 
moral representative, to stand and act in our behalf, so as to lay 
a foundation for his conduct to be so imputed to us, as that we 
should stand and fall with him, then he had not full power and 
rightful authority to appoint the second Adam to be a public 
head, and moral representative, to stand and act in the room of 
a. guilty world, so as to lay a foundation for his righteousness to 
be so imputed to them that believe in him, as that they should 
be justified and saved through it : For, if God has not power to 
constitute one to stand and act in the room of another, in any 
case whatsoever — and if, on this footing, we say he had not pow- 
er to appoint the first Adam, it is plaip. that, on the same foot- 
ing, he had no power to appoint the second. I suppose it will 
be readily granted, that if God has power, in any case whatso- 
ever, to constitute one to stand and act in the room of another, 
in the manner aforesaid, then he had in these two instances of 
Adam and Christ, which are doubtless, on all accounts, in them- 
selves, most unexceptionable : But if God, in no case whatso- 
ever, has power to appoint one thus to stand and act in the room 
of another, then both these constitutions are effectually under- 
mined, and rendered null and void. We can neither be guilty of 
Adam's first sin, so as justly to be exposed to condemnation and 
ruin therefor ; nor can the righteousness of Christ be so imputed 
to us, as to entitle us to justification and life. One man's disobe- 
dience cannot constitute many to be sinners, nor the obedience 
of one constitute many to be righteous. We can neither be ru- 
ined by the first Adam, nor redeemed by the second. Under 
the Jewish dispensation, it was ordained (Zez>.xvi.) that Aaron 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 259 

should lay both his hands upon the head of the live-goat, and con- 
fess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all 
their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head 
of the goat, and send him away by the hand of a fit man into the 
wilderness : And (says God) the goat shall bear upon him all 
their iniquities, unto a land not inhabited. We used to think 
this scape-goat was designed by God to typify Christ : And the 
scripture has taught us, in express language, that the iniquities 
of us all were laid on fern... .that he bore our sins*., .that he was 
made a curse for w.9....that by his obedience many are made right- 
r0ws....lsai. liii. 6 — Pet. ii. 24 — Gal. iii. 13 — Rom. v. 19. — 
But if God has not authority to constitute one to stand and act 
in the room of another, this must all be void and of none effect: 
And thus, while men are disputing against the original consti- 
tution with Adam, they, unawares, undermine this second con- 
stitution, which is the foundation of all our hopes. Eager to 
avoid Adam's first sin, whereby comes condemnation, they ren- 
der of none effect Christ's righteousness, whereby cornea jus- 
tification : And if Christ did not stand and act as a public 
person.. ..if our sins were not laid upon him. ...if he did not bare 
them on the tree..,. if he was not made a curse for us, and if we 
are not to be pardoned through his atonement, and justified 
through his righteousness, then the gospel is all a fable, and the 
whole scheme of our salvation, therein revealed, is wholly over- 
thrown : What remains, therefore, but deism and infidelity ? 
But in as much as we have full evidence to the truth of the 
Christian revelation, and may be assured that it is from God, 
we may, therefore, be confirmed in it that Jesus Christ has 
been, by God, the great Governor of the world, appointed a pub- 
lic person, to stand and act.... to obey and suffer in our room, 
that, through his obedience and sufferings, we might have par- 
don and eternal life : And, from this fact, we may be assured, 
that God has full power and rightful authority to constitute one 
to stand and act in the room of another : and, if he has such 
authority, nothing hinders but that he might constitute Adam 
to be our public head, as has been said. 



2/0 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

Besides, if we consider the nature of the thing itself, it is plain 
that God had power to constitute Adam our public head ; for 
God, as moral Governor cf the world, and sovereign Lord of 
all things, has power to make any constitution whatsoever, 
which does, in its own nature, agree to the eternal fitness of 
things, or, in other words, which is agreeable to his own perfec- 
tions : But all will grant, that constitution is agreeable to his own 
perfections, which, in its own nature, is suited to the glory of God 
and good of the creatures. Now this constitution with Adam 
was, in its own nature, suited to the general good of mankind, 
because the welfare of mankind was, in the nature of the thing, 
safer and better secured upon such a footing, than if every single 
child of Adam had been left in a state of pure nature, without any 
constitution at all, or than if they had every one been put to act 
singly for himself — as has been before proved : And it was well 
suited to the glory of God,because in that constitution,considered 
in its own nature, God eminently appeared to be what he was : 
For in it he appeared as the most high God — the supreme 
Lord, and sovereign Governor of the whole world — for in 
it he acted as sovereign Lord oi his creatures... as being, by nature^ 
God, and as having an absolute right to and authority over the 
works of his hands. And when God acts so, as by his conduct 
to show what he is, then are his doings suited to his own glory ; 
for nothing is more to his glory, than to appear to be what he 
is : And in as much as the constitution itseJf was well suited 
to the general good of mankind, God did, in making of it, act 
a kind and tender part towards the human race, to the honor 
and glory of his goodness. And while eternal life was prom- 
ised to perfect obedience, and eternal death threatened to diso- 
bedience, God's infinite love to virtue, and infinite hatred of 
vice, were manifested, to the glory of his holiness and justice. 
Since, then, that constitution was thus, in its own nature, suited 
to our good and God's glory, there is no doubt but the sove- 
reign Lord and Governor of all things had full power and right- 
ful authority so to appoint : for, in so doing, he would act agree- 
ably to his own perfections, and the eternal fitness of things. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 2fl 

But to conclude — We may be abundantly satisfied, not 
only from the nature of the thing, but also from what God has 
in fact done, that that constitution was holy, just, and good, and 
that he had full power, and rightful authority to do as he did, 
because otherwise he would never have done so— he would 
never have made such a constitution. It is plain and evident, 
from facts, that Adam was considered and dealt with under 
the capacity of a public head, and that death natural, spiritual, 
and eternal, were included in the threatening ; for all his pos- 
terity are evidently dealt with just as if that had been the case. 
They are born spiritually dead, as has been proved in the for- 
mer discourse. They are evidently liable to natural death, as 
soon as they are born : And if they die and go into eternity with 
their native temper, they must necessarily be miserable in be- 
ing what they are, unlike to God, and incapable of the enjoy- 
ment of him, and contrary to him : And God must necessarily 
look upon them with everlasting abhorrence ; for he cannot but 
abhor creatures whose tempers are contrary to him : so that 
here is eternal death ; and all in consequence of Adam's first sin. 

Now then, if indeed we are, mfact, dealt with just as we 
should have been, had Adam been our public head, there can 
surely need no farther evidence to prove that this was the case ; 
for the Judge of all the earth cannot but do right : and, there- 
fore, he would not deal with us as being guilty of Adam's first 
sin, were not Adam our representative : But had Adam been 
our representative, and his first sin imputed to us, yet the?i\VQ 
should have been dealt with no otherwise than now we are ; 
i. e. on supposition of the interposition of a Mediator, as is now 
the case : for that we are now born into the world subject to 
natural death, none can deny, and this by virtue of Adam's first 
sin ; and if we are really spiritually dead too, and so exposed to 
eternal death, it is just what might have been expected, had Ad- 
am stood for us— and so there is no more to be said : And if 
God be such a Being, as I suppose he is, and the law such, and 
the nature of true holiness such, then, as has been shown in the 

first discourse, there is no doubt we are, natively, spiritually 

M M 



272 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

dead : So that the force of this argument depends upon the truth 
of those first principles^ which, I think, have been sufficiently 
proved. Right apprehensions of the moral law will, at once, 
convince us of our inherent natural corruption, and make us feel 
that we art fallen creatures. 

Remark. Perhaps this is the consideration which most 
commonly first leads poor sinners to see that they do actually 
lie under the guilt of Adam's first sin ; and that their ruin 
thence took its rise, viz. their finding, by experience, when the 
spirit of God brings home the law and awakens conscience, that 
they are, by nature , dead in trespasses and sins ; for now no 
conclusion can be more natural than that they are, by nature, chil- 
dren of wrath : And this will naturally lead them to enquire, 
Whence this has come to pass ? and they will presently find the 
scripture express and plain in it, that, ^z/ one maris disobedience, 
many were made sinners ; and, by the offence of one, judgment 
came upon all to condemnation : and their own experience will 
give them the most natural comment upon the words, while they 
feel themselves to be, by nature, dead in sin, and exposed to 
eternal ruin : But now, a How could I justly have all this come 
44 upon me for Adam's first sin ?" will naturally be the next 
thought : And an awakened conscience will, perhaps first of all, 
reply, " How it is just and right I cannot tell, but I am certain 
" so it is, that I am, by nature, dead in sin, and, by nature, a 
44 child of wrath ; — this I see and feel : And the scripture says, 
" that, by one maris disobedience, many were made sinners ; and 
41 that,yir the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to con- 
44 demnaiion : And God's ways must be righteous, for the Judge 
44 of all the earth always does right : And if I do finally perish, 
41 1 have nothing to say ; for I have gone in Adam's steps.... I 
u have been voluntary in my rebellion against God all my life, 
44 and am at heart an enemy toMiim still, and that voluntarily so." 
And this may, in a measure, silence such a poor sinner for the 
present : But if ever he comes to be reconciled to the divine 
nature, and then impartially to look into the original constitu- 
tion, he may then see that it was, in its own nature, holy, just, 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 273 

and good, and worthy of God, the great Governor of the world ; 
and, as such, sweetly acquiesce in it, saying, u God's ways were 
a holy, just, and good, and blessed be his name ; but to us (to 
" ail the human race) belong shame and confusion of face, for 
<L that we have sinned." But until men are awakened, at least 
to some sense of their natural corruption, they are commonly 
very blind and deaf to all the scripture says about this matter. 
It is hard to make men believe contrary to their own experi- 
ence — to make them believe that they fell in Adam, when they 
do not feel that they are, by nature, fallen creatures. Let the 
scripture speak ever so plain, yet they cannot believe that it 
means as it says : It must mean, they think, something else. 
The best method, therefore, to convince sinners of the doctrine 
of original (imputed) sin, and to silence all their cavils, is to 
open the true meaning of the moral laxv, and show them their 
native depravity : This is the method which God takes in the 
Bible. He says but little about Adam's-first sin, but says much 
to show us what we really are, as knowing that, if we are but 
once convinced of our native corruption, a few words are suffi- 
cient to show us. whence our ruin originally took its rise. 

Thus God, the great Governor of the world, in the gospel- 
dispensation, considered mankind as being in a perishing con- 
dition.. ..sinful, guilty, justly condemned, helpless, and undone ; 
and one ground and reason of his looking upon mankind to be 
in such a condition, was our original apostacy from him in our 
first parents : And. since that constitution, whereby Adam was 
made our common head and public representative, was holy, 
just, and good, in its own nature ; and since God, the supreme 
Lord of all things, had full power and rightful authority so to 
ordain and appoint — hence, therefore, he has sufficient reason 
to look upon mankind,on account of this first apostacv,as he does. 

Therefore, at the same time he provided a Savior for Adam, 
at the same time did he also provide a Savior for his posterity 
too ; they being considered as one with him, and involved in 
the same sin, and guilt, and ruin ; and so standing in equal need 
of relief : Hence Christ is called the lamb slain from thcfoun- 



274 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

dation of the world. Then was it said, that the seed of the wo- 
man shall bruise the serpent's head : To which original grant 
our Savior seems to have respect, when he says, God so loved 
the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, &c. Whereas, 
had Adam acted in the capacity of a private person, and sinned 
and fallen for himself alone, and his posterity not been involved 
in the same ruin, he might have had a Savior provided for 
him : But his posterity would no more have needed one than 
the angels in heaven, or than Adam before his fall. 

Ob j. But those words, In the day thou eatest thereof, thou 
shalt surely die, (Gen. ii* 17) were evidently spoken only to Ad- 
am; nor is there a word said about his posterity having any inte- 
rest or concern in the affair. 

Ans. So also were those words, in Gen. iii. 19.. ..Dust thou 
art, and unto dust shalt thou return, spoken only to Adam, with- 
out the least intimation that his posterity were any of them in- 
cluded in the sentence : And yet, by virtue of that sentence, all 
his posterity are subject to death. ...Rom. v. 12, 13, 14 : Do 
you account for this, and you will, at the same time, account 
for that ; for the truth is, that, in both cases, Adam was con- 
sidered not merely as a single private person, but as a public 
head and representative, standing in the room of all his poster- 
ity : and, considered in this capacity, was he threatened with 
death, in case he sinned — and, considered in this capacity, was 
natural death denounced upon him after his fall : So that, in 
both, his posterity were equally included : and therefore St. 
Paul calls Adam a type of Christ.*. .Rom. v. 14 — and calls Christ 
the second Adam.. ..I. Cor. xv. 45 ; because both these, by the 
authority of the great Governor of the world, were constituted 
public persons, to act in the behalf of mankind : And all man- 
kind were so included in them, that St. Paul speaks as if there 
had been but only these two men, Adam and Christ : I. Cor. 
xv. 47....Thefrst man is of the earth, earthy ; the second man 
is the Lordfrom heaven. 

2. God, the supreme Ruler of the world, does, in the gospel, 
consider mankind as being in a perishing condition, not only 






DISTINGUISHED JRO^I ALL COUNTERIEITS. 275 

on the account of their original apostacy in Adam, their com- 
mon head and representative, but also because they are, what 
they are, in themselves — (1.) Destitute of the divine image— 
(2.) Contrary to God in the temper of their hearts — (3.) Ut- 
terly averse to a reconciliation — (4,) In a disposition, if unre- 
strained, to live in all open rebellion against the Majesty of 
heaven, before his face — (-5.) And yet insensible of their just 
desert, and of their need of sovereign grace ; and ready rather 
to think it a cruel thing, if God should damn them. 

(1.) God saw mankind destitute of his moral image ; for being 
conscious of the holy temper of his own heart.... of the holv pro- 
pensity of his own nature — and being conscious to the temper 
of their hearts. ..to the propensity of their nature, at first view 
he saw what they were. God looked doxvn from heaven upon the 
children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, 
that did seek God : Every one of them is gone back ; they are al- 
together become filthy ; there is none that doth good. ..no, not one 
....Psalm liii. 2, 3 : He saw mankind destitute of a conformity 
to his holy law. The law requires mankind to love God su- 
premely, live to him ultimately, and delight in him superlative- 
ly — and to love one another as their own souls ; but he look- 
ed down from heaven. ...he beheld, and, lo, all the human race 
were entirely devoid of that temper : None were in a disposi- 
tion to account him infinitely glorious in being what he was : 
not one had the least relish or taste for the beauty of his moral 
perfections : every heart empty of holy love and holy delight, 
and devoid of any true spirit or principle of obedience ; and all 
mankind had lost that frame of spirit towards one another which 
they ought to have : The whole world lay in ruin. He knew 
his law was holy, just, and good, and that his creature, man, was 
under infinite obligations to a perfect conformity thereto : He 
saw what grounds there were for the law, and what reasons for 
their obedience : He saw his own infinite excellency, and his 
original, underived, entire right to them ; and was conscious to 
his rightful authority over them : He judged them infinitely to 
blame for their non-conformity, and worthy of an infinite pun- 



-276 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

ishment : Speaking after the manner of men, he did, in the hv 
ward temper of his heart, perfectly approve of those words in 
GaL iii. 10, as being strictly just — Cursed is every one that con- 
tinueth not in all things zvritten in the book of the law to do them : 
Therefore he looked on mankind in a perishing condition. But, 

(2.) He viewed mankind not only destitute of good, but full of 
evil; — not only void of the true love to God and to one anoth- 
er, but enemies to God, and living in malice and envy among 
themselves. He looked down from heaven and viewed a guil- 
ty world, and saw their contrariety to his nature and to his law : 
Conscious of his own divine temper, he saw every contrary 
temper in them : What he esteems, they despise ; — what he de- 
lights in, they loathe : The end which he prosecutes, they op- 
pose ; and they esteem and delight in that which is contrary to 
him, and prosecute ends and designs contrary to his : He saw 
their views, their tempers, their wills, their ends, designs, and 
ways were all contrary to him, and diametrically opposite to his 
law: He considered them as his enemies, and their tempers as 
perfect enmity and contrariety to the divine nature. ...Rom. 
viii. 7* 

(3.) And in as much as he thus saw them entirely destituted 
of love to him, and diametrically contrary to the divine nature 
in the temper of their hearts, he knew they would have no incli- 
nation to a reconciliation to God ; but would benatarally averse 
to it : He knew their aversion to a reconciliation would be as 
strong as their contrariety to the divine nature, from which it 
took its rise : He saw that if he should attempt to reclaim them, 
he should only meet with resistance ; — that if he should spread 
the news of pardon and peace through a guilty world, and in- 
vite them to return and be reconciled, that they would make 
light of it and despise it ; — that if he should send messengers 
after them, to persuade them to return, and beseech them to be 
reconciled, that they would put many of them to death : He 
saw just what treatment the prophets, and Christ, and his apos- 
tles were like to meet with : He knew not one in all the world 
would repent and convert, unless brought thereto by h'i3 own al- 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 277 

mighty arm, and all-conquering grace.... Mat. xxi. 33 — 39 — 
Rom. viii. 7 — I. Cor. iii. 6, 7. 

(4.) Tea, so far from a disposition to repent and convert, that, 
if left rvholly to themselves, unrestrained, no ruickedness xvoiddbe 
too bad for them : All would act as bad as Cain, Manasseth, or 
Judas ; and the whole human race be like so many incarnate 
<levils — they having the seed of all sin in their hearts... .Mark 
vii. 21, 22. 

(5.) And yet insensible of their sin and guilt, and just desert, 
and that they lie merely at the sovereign meraj of God, and that 
he is at liberty to show mercy, or not, as seems good in his sight: 
vea, so averse to the knowledge of this their true state, as to 
be disposed to hate the light, and shut their eyes against it, rea- 
dy to resist all nicihods of conviction ; — yea, that some would 
be even so perverse, as actually to rise in arms against his mes- 
sengers, who endeavored to shew them their ruin and the way 
of their recovery, and put diem to death, as not fit to live ; and 
yet so stupid as to think, that, in ail, they did God good ser- 
vice : And that, in general, a great out-cry would be raised 
round a proud and guilty world, against the Lord, for suppo- 
sing mankind to be in so bad, so very forlorn a state. God 
knew the pride of man, that he is exceedingly proud ; and saw 
how great offence would be given to a guilty world, who would 
by no means endure to be so affronted.... John iii, 19, 20, and 
viii. oo, 47. 

Now, such were the grounds upon which God looked upon 
the human race in a perishing condition.. ..sinful, guilty, justly 
condemned, helpless, and undone : And considering that the 
original constitution with Adam, according to which he and all 
his posterity were doomed to destruction, in case he fell, was 
holy, just, and good ; and considering that the law of nature, 
which all mankind are naturally under, and according to which 
the least sin exposes to eternal damnation, is also holy, just, and 
good ; and considering our apostacy in Adam, and what we 
are in ourselves ; — I say, considering all thesethings, it is most 
certain and evident that the judgment of God was according to 



278 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

truth, while he esteemed mankind to be thus in a perishing 
condition. 

That mankind are actually of such a nature, has been demon- 
strated in the former discourse : That God, whose understand- 
ing is infinite, and who sees all things as being what they really 
are, must therefore now see mankind to be such, is self-evi- 
dent : and such as he noxv sees them to be, such he, from the 
beginning, knew they would be : It is evident, therefore, a pri- 
ori, that God must have considered mankind to be such, when 
he first entered upon his designs of grace revealed in the gos- 
pel : And if we consider the nature of the gospel, and what 
methods God has taken with a sinful, guilty world, to reclaim 
and recover them, and how they have behaved under all, it will 
be still more evident that mankind are verily in such a case.— - 
The law.. ..the gospel, and experience, all join to confirm it. 

Had not the gospel considered us as being entirely devoid of 
the divine image, destitute of any spiritual good thing, blind, 
dead, graceless, why should it so much urge the necessity of 
our being born again.... made new creatu res.... .having our eyes 
opened... being raised from the dead... being created anew to good 
works. ..and having the law tvritten in our hearts, the heart of 
stone taken away, and an heart of flesh given P — Had not the 
gospel considered us as being enemies to God, why should it in- 
vite us to be reconciled? — Had not the gospel considered us as 
being very averse to a reconciliation, why should it pray and 
beseech us, with so much earnestness and solemnity, to be re- 
conciled. ...and use so many arguments ? — Had not the gospel 
considered our reconciliation as unattainable by the most pow- 
erful arguments, of themselves, why should it declare that, after 
all, neither Paul, nor Apollos, nor Cephas are any thing, or can 
do any thing, unless God himself give the increase ? — And were 
we not enemies to God, and rebels, and inveterate haters of the 
light, and disposed to rise in arms against it, why should Christ 
tell his ministers, / send you forth as sheep among wolves ; if 
tJiey have called the master of the house Beelzebub, no wonder 
they call you so ; you shall be hated ofallmenfor my name^s sake ; 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 279 

they that kill you will think they do God good service? That 
generation thought as well of themselves as the present genera- 
tion now on earth does, and were ready to speak the same lan- 
guage, and say, If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we 
woidd not have killed the prophets ; but Christ knew their 
hearts : And, had not mankind, on these accounts, been con- 
sidered as in a perishing condition, sinful, guilty, justly con- 
demned, helpless and undone, why was there provided such a 
Redeemer, and such a Sanctificr ? And why was the salvation 
of sinners every where represented as being so entirely owing 
to the grace, the mere grace, the free, astonishing, wonderful 
grace of God, from first to last ? Surely, from all this, most 
certain and evident it is, that Qod does, in the gospel, upon 
these grounds, consider mankind as being in a perishing con- 
dition : And upon these grounds we must, therefore, come to 
consider ourselves so too, or we can never be in a disposition 
humbly and thankfully to accept the grace offered, and return 
home to God in the way provided. We shall rather be affront- 
ed, that the gospel supposes us to be in so bad a condition ; or 
else never so much as take matters into serious consideration, 
but do as those invited to the marriage of the king's son, in 
Mat. xxii. 5. ...They made light of it, and went their ways, one 
to his farm, another to his merchandize. I do but just hint at 
these things now, because they have been so largely insisted 
upon heretofore. And thus we see upon what grounds it is, 
that the great Governor of the world does, in the gospel, con- 
sider mankind as being in a perishing condition. 

SECTION II. 
SHOWING WHENCE God's DESIGN OF MERCY TOWARDS A PER- 
ISHING WORLD ORIGINALLY TOOK ITS RISE. 

I proceed now, 

II. To show what were the motives which have excited God 
to do what he has done, for the recovery of sinners out of this 
their perishing condition. And 

1. It was not because the original constitution with Adam, our 

public head and representative, was too severe : It was not be- 

N N 



280 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

cause it would have been hard and cruel, or in the least inconsist- 
ent zvith his infinite goodness and tender mercies, to have left all 
mankind in that state of total ruin they were brought into by the 
fall : For had not that constitution been, in its own nature, ho- 
ly, just, and good, and so most perfectly agreeable to his own 
nature... .to his holiness, justice, and goodness, he would never 
have made it ; for he necessarily infinitely abhors, in his pub- 
lic conduct, to act counter to the inward temper of his heart* 
For the very reason that he loves himself for being what he is, for 
th,e same reason he loves to act like himself, and infinitely abhors 
the contrary : Andif thatconstitution was holy, just, and good, in 
its own nature, originally, it must remain so still ; for Adam's 
apostacy, together with all the dreadful consequences thereof^ 
could not alter its nature. The constitution is perfectly as ex- 
cellent as if Adam had never fallen. ...perfectly as good as if it 
had been the means of laying a foundation for the everlasting 
blessedness of all the human race ; for it is whatit was. It was 
excellently well calculated for the glory of God, and the welfare 
of mankind, in its own nature ; and therefore God made it.... 
approved of it.. ..was well pleased with it, nor can he ever alter 
his mind about it : for it is, in itself, just the same it was at first 
— and if it was holy, just, and good, in its own nature, and if it 
remains so still.. ...if the holiness, justice, and goodness of his 
nature prompted him at first to make it, and then to approve of 
it, and be perfectly w r ell pleased with it, it could not (it is self- 
evident) possibly have been, in the least, disagreeable to his 
holiness, justice, or goodness, to have dealt with all mankind, 
since the fall, according to it : So that, to a demonstration, 
God's thoughts of mercy towards a guilty, undone world, did 
not, in any measure, take its rise from any notion that mankind 
had been hardly dealt with, or that it would be any thing like 
cruelty and unmercifulness to damn the whole world for Ad- 
am's first sin, according to the tenor of the original constitution. 
Indeed, to suppose such a thing, highly reflects upon that con- 
stitution — -and upon God, for ever making it : It supposes the 
constitution was never really holy, just, and good in its own 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 281 

mature, and that God did wrong in making it : And the 
riches and glory of gospel-grace are wholly obscured ; for God 
cannot be considered as a sovereign benefactor, showing unde- 
served mercy to a guilty, hell-deserving world ; but rather as 
repenting for the injury he has done to mankind, and as endeav- 
oring to make amends for it by a better, a juster and kinder 
conduct for the time to come : And if this were the case, all 
his pretences, his high pretences to great love and goodness,... 
to great kindness and grace, are hypocritical, and a mere mock- 
ing of us. He had abused and injured us, and is now but re- 
penting, and making restitution ; and ought, therefore, to have 
said so, and not pretended he did all from mere grace, which 
is to affront us, and make as if that constitution was holy, just, 
and good, and we righteously condemned, and justly miserable 
forever : So that, let us view the case in what light we will, it is 
most evident and certain that the great Governor of the world 
considered mankind as being righteously condemned, and lia- 
ble to everlasting destruction, consistent with the infinite good- 
ness of his nature ; nor did a thought of pity ever enter into 
his heart from the contrary supposition : Yea, it seems to have 
been his very design to maintain the honor of that constitution, 
while he shows mercy to a guilty world, inasmuch as he has 
appointed another public person, his own dear Son, to make 
atonement for our original apostacy, as well as our other sins, 
that hereby a way for his mercy might be opened. .>.Rom. v. 
18, 19. 

2. Nor did God's designs of mercy towards a guilty, undone 
world take their rise from a supposition that the law of nature, 
which all mankind are naturally under, is too severe, in requi- 
ring perfect obedience, and threatening eternal damnation for the 
very least defect, (Rom. i. 18 — Gal. ill. 10), or from any sup- 
position that it would have been any thing like cruelty or unmer- 
cifulness, to have dealt with all mankind according to that rule. 

To explain myself, I may just observe, that the original con- 
stitution with Adam, as public head, (Gen. ii. 17) was ?l positive 
appointment. After he was turned out of the garden, he cea- 



282 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

sedto sustain the character or capacity of a public person ; nor 
are his posterity accountable for any but his first transgression. 
But the law of nature results from the nature of things.. .•from 
God's being what he is in himself, and from our being what 
we are, and he our Creator and we his creatures : And it was 
binding, in order of nature, antecedent to any positive consti- 
tution whatsoever : nor is its binding nature capable of any 
dissolution. We might have obtained life, according to the 
constitution made with Adam, had he kept covenant with God ; 
and been confirmed in a state of holiness and happiness : so 
now we may obtain life by Jesus Christ, who has fulfilled the 
law of nature, and made atonement for all sin : But the law of 
nature still remains an unalterable rule of righteousness be- 
tween God and his creature, man. We owe perfect obedience 
to God, and the least sin deserves eternal damnation : And 
God might always have dealt with mankind simply according 
to this rule. The original constitution with Adam had some 
degree of GPvACE in it. The constitution in the gospel is alto- 
gether grace. God might have held all mankind bound by 
the law of nature simply, nor ever have appointed any other 
way to happiness, than a perfect and persevering obedience ; 
and mankind have been, to ail eternity, in a peccable state, lia- 
ble to sin and fall into ruin. Whatsoever advantages mankind 
have had over and above this, are, and have been, of mere grace* 
According to the law of nature, we are under infinite obligations 
to perfect holiness in the temper of our hearts, and to perfect 
obedience in the whole course of our lives, and that not only 
for a day, or a year, or a thousand years, but so long as we con- 
tinue in being. And so long as we are thus obedient, wc shall 
be happy ; but the least defect, at any time whatsoever, will let 
in everlasting, inevitable ruin upon us. Adam, in innocence, 
was under the law of nature, as well as under that particular 
positive constitution in Gen. ii. 17 : So that any other sin, as 
well as eating the forbidden fruit, must have exposed him to 
ruin. But then, by that constitution, he had this peculiar ad- 
vantage, that, if he persevered, his time of trial should shortly 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 283 

be at an end, and himself and all his race confirmed ,in a state 
of holiness and happiness — an advantage never to be obtained 
bv any one merelv under the law of nature : For, in the nature 
of things, it is impossible God should ever be laid under any 
obligations to his creatures, unless by virtue of his own free 
promise, which does not belong to the law of nature, but is an 
act of grace, which he may grant or withhold, as seems good in 
his sight. When Adam broke covenant with God, and when 
that positive constitution was at an end, yet still Adam remained, 
under the law of nature, bound to perfect obedience, to l^ve 
God with all his heart, and his neighbor as himself; yea, under 
infinite obligations — and every defect was infinitely sinful, and 
so was worthy o r infinite punishment. And as was the case 
with him, so is the case with all his posterity : Our obligations 
are infinite, and so our non-performance infinitely faulty, and 
worthy of an infinite punishment : Though, indeed, as the case 
now stands, nor Adam, nor any of his race can ever obtain life 
bv the law of nature ; because we are sinners, and so, by the 
law of nature, are condemned without hope. Rom. iii. 20.... 
By the deeds of the law nojtesh can be justified ; for by the law 
is the* } ge of sin : And chap. iv. ver. 15.. .The law work- 

tth wrath. And thus, as the case now stands, we are under 
infinite obligations to perfect obedience, and are liable to an in- 
finite punishment for the least defect : and yet, through the bad 
temper of our hearts, we are unable to yield any obedience, and 
are in a disposition to be continually treasuring up wrath 
against the day of wrath. 

Now, I say, Lie supreme King of heaven and earth was not 
moved to t .in designs of mercy towards a sinful, guilty, 

undone world, from a supposition that the law of nature was too 
severe, or that it would have been any thing like unmerciful- 
ness to have dealt with ail mankind according to that rule : For, 

All that this law requires, is, that since God is infinitely amia- 
ble in himself, and has such an entire right to us, and absolute 
authority over us as his creatures, we therefore ought to . 
him with all our hearts, and be entirely devoted to him, to do 



284 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

his will and keep his commands, seeking his glory ; and that, 
since our neighbors are such as we. ..of the same species, an« 
under the same general circumstances, we therefore ought t< 
love our neighbor as ourselves ; — both which things are, in the: 
own nature, right, and fit, and reasonable : so that the law is ho- 
ly : And all that this law threatens, in case of any transgres- 
sion, is, that since our obligations are infinite, and so the least 
defect infinitely wrong, therefore every such defect should 
punished with the everlasting pains of hell.. ..and that in exa< 
proportion to the several aggravations attending each trangres- 
sion ; — which is also, in its own nature, right, and fit, and rea- 
sonable : so that the law is just : And that perfect holiness 
which this law requires, i. e. to love God with all our hearts, and 
our neighbors as ourselves, is the highest perfection our nature 
is capable of, and altogether suited to make us happy : so that 
the law is good. But, 

It is not severe, nor any thing like unmercifulness, to deal 
with mankind according to a rule, which is, in its own nature, 
holy, just, and good ; but rather, it must have been agreeable to 
the holiness, justice, and goodness of the great Governor of the 
world so to do : And indeed, were not this the case, it would 
have been fit this law should have been repealed. Mankind 
did not need to be redeemed from the curse of an unrighteous 
law ; for such a law ought to be laid aside, and its curses never 
executed. God would have been bound in justice to have abol- 
ished an unrighteous law. There is no need of Christ or gos- 
pel-grace in the case : and so all the high commendations of the 
grace of God in providing a Savior, as being rich, free, and won- 
derful, are groundless, and cast much reproach upon mankind, as 
being a guilty race, righteously condemned, when, in truth, it is no 
such thing. God ought to have owned that the law was wrong, 
and to have repealed it — -and not to? have proceeded as if it was 
very good, and mankind altogether to blame, and Worthy of 
eternal damnation : And mightily would this have pleased an 
apostate, proud, and guilty world ; and, at the same time, cast 

nite reproach upon Gcd and his holy law, and shut out all 
the grace of the gospel* 



DISTINGUISHED *ROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 285 

God has therefore, in the gospel, not only supposed the law 
to be holy, just, and good, and mankind righteously condem- 
ned ; but has taken ail possible care to make it evident that he 
does so, and thereby to secure the honor of his law, discounte- 
nance sin, humble the sinner, and exalt and magnify his grace 
Even the whole scheme of the gospel is wisely calculated to attain 
these ends, as we shall see hereafter. So far was God from being 
moved to pity mankind, from a supposition that they had, in 
this respect, been too severely dealt with, and so objects of pity 
in that sense, that, on the contrary, he most perfectly approved 
of the law, as holy, just, and good — and was altogether in it, 
that mankind deserved to be proceeded with according to it .: 
Yea, so highly did he approve of his holy law, and so odious and 
ill-deserving did mankind appear in his eyes for breaking it, 
that their sin cried aloud for vengeance in his ears ; — yea, cried 
so loud for vengeance, that he judged it necessary that his own 
Son should appear in their stead and die in their room, to the 
end that he might be just.. ..might act consistently with the ho- 
liness and justice of his nature, while heshowedmercy to them... 
Rom. iii. 9 — 26: In such a light he viewed things — in such a light 
must we therefore view them too, or -we can never truly under- 
stand cur need of Christ and gospel-grace, or cordially acqui- 
esce in the gospel-way of salvation ; but rather shall be dispo- 
sed to quarrel with the strictness of the law, and think ourselves 
abused, and imagine that God deals hardly with us. 

3. Nor was the supreme Being moved to entertain designs 
of mercy towards mankind, from a supposition that their inabiU 
itij to yield perfect obedience made them the less to blame, and so 
the more proper objects ofpilij on that account : For mankind are 
not the less to blame for their inability ; but the more unable 
they are, the greater is their blame — and so the more proper ob- 
jects are they of the divine wrath and vengeance. 

God is a most excellent and am* able Being. He in finitely 
deserves our highestlove and esteem, and supreme delight. It 
is perfectly fit we should be of a disposition to say, Whom have 
y.vs in heaven but thee ? and there is nothing on north tt/i 



286 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

besides thee... Psalm lxxiii. 25. Now, not to love this God with 
all our hearts, must be infinitely wrong ; and not to love him at 
all, must be worse still : but to be habitually contrary to him in 
the temper of our hearts — yea, so averse to him as that we 
Cannot love him, must be, in the very highest degree, vile and 
sinful : And now to say we cannot, by way of extenuation, as 
though we were the less to blame for that, is intolerably God- 
provoking; since our cannot arises only from the bad temper 
of our hearts, and because we are not what we should be — and 
not at all from any unloveliness in the divine nature, or from 
our want of external advantages for the knowledge of God. 

Put the case to thyself, O man :— Were you as wise as Solo- 
mon, as holy as David, as humble as Paul, and of as loving and 
kind a temper as John,. ..and had you a family of children.... 
and were all the rules and orders of your house like yourself, 
and calculated to make all your children just such as you are.... 
and did you perceive that your children neither liked you, nor 
your ways, nor the orders of your house — they show you much 
disrespect in their carriage, disregard your authority, complain 
your rules are too strict, and daily break over all orders ; — at 
length you call them to an account — are about to convince, hum- 
ble, and reform them. ..they plead they are not to blame, at least 
not so much to blame, because they cannot love you, they can- 
not like your ways, they cannot but abhor such rules and or- 
ders ; those very properties, on account of which you are in- 
deed the most excellent man in the world, these are the very 
things for which they dislike you, while, in the mean time, they 
can most heartily love their companions in vice and debauchery: 
And now the question is, whether their inability to love you 
renders them any the less to blame : or, whether it be not vt' 
ry provoking in them, to plead, in excuse for themselves, that 
they cannot love you ; when their cannot arises from their vol- 
untary contrariety to all good, and love to debauchery ; and 
not at all from any unloveliness of your person or ways ; or for 
want of advantages to be acquainted with you, and with the 
beauty of your temper and conduct. The application is easy. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 287 

Was it any excuse for the ill-will of the malicious Pharisees to- 
wards Christ, that they could not -love him.... that they could not 
but hate him ? Did ever any man look upon a malicious, spiteful 
neighbor, and think him any the less to blame for his abundant 
ill-carriage.... for his being so exceedingly ill-natured that it was 
not in his heart to do otherwise ? I appeal to the common sense 
of all mankind. 

If such an inability can excuse mankind, then the devils, up- 
on the same footing, may be excused too : And the more any 
of God's subjects hate him, the less will they be to blame ; for 
the more any do really hate God, the less able will they be to 
love him ; — the more averse to his law, the less able to keep it : 
And, therefore, since our inability arises from such a root, the 
more unable we are to love God with all our hearts, and yield a 
perfect obedience to all his laws, the more vile, guilty, hell- 
deserving we are, and the more unworthy of pity : So that our 
moral inability and impotency, or rather obstinacy, was, in the 
nature of things, so far from extenuating our guilt and moving 
the divine pity, that it was the strongest evidence of our ex- 
ceeding vileness, and, as it were, a mighty bar and great discour- 
agement in the way of God's ever entertaining any designs of 
mercy towards us ; It w r as like the great mountains ; so that 
nothing but infinite goodness could have ever surmounted it : 
And in this light must we view ourselves and our inability, and 
become self-condemned before God, or we shall never like it 
that God looks upon us as he does, nor ever be able to look up- 
on his grace in the gospel in the same light with him, nor can 
we ever heartily approve of and fall in with that way of salvation. 

When we are under sufficient outward advantages to come to 
know what kind of Being God is, and yet, after all, see no beau- 
ty in him, nor esteem him, it must be either because we are in- 
tolerably bad in our temper, or else because he is not truly, and, 
indeed, a lovely and amiable Being. When we say we cannot 
love him, under a fond notion that we are hereby excused and 
are not to blame, we implicitly say, that we are well enough dis- 
posed, and are of a good temper, but God is such an hateful Be- 

O o 



288 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

iog that we cannot love him ,- — -there is nothing in him to belov- 
ed : So that to say we cannot, under a notion of extenuating 
cur guilt, casts the highest reflection upon God imaginable, and 
indeed is big with the blackest blasphemy. We had as good say, 
" It is not owing to us that we do not love God, but to him.— - 
" We would readily love him, if there was anything in him for 
" us to love ; but there is not, and so we cannot — and therefore 
" are not to blamee" 

To suppose, therefore, that God, in the gospel, considers us 
as being the less to blame fcr this our inability, and from thence 
is moved to pity us, is the very same thing in effect as to sup- 
pose that God owns himself a hateful, unlovely Being, an< 
thinks it a great hardship that his poor creatures should be foi 
ced to love him, or be damned ; and therefore repents that ev- 
er he was so severe, or ever made such a law, and is sorry for 
them, and will do better by them for time to come : But ho^ 
horrid a thought is this ! It casts the highest reflection upon 
God, and upon his holy law, and quite destroys all the grace of 
the gospel. No, no ! God knew well enough how the case 
stood : He was conscious of his own infinite excellency, and 
of the infinite reasonableness of his law : He knew the hellish 
temper of an apostate, rebellious race ; and verily he was God, 
and not man, or he would have doomed the whole world to de- 
struction without any pity, or so much as one thought of mercy. 
Herein xvas love, not that xve loved God, but that God loved us y 
and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins.. ..I. John iv. 10. 
While we were sinners and enemies, (Rom. v. 8, 10), and most 
strongly averse to a reconciliation.. ..II. Cor. v. 20. 

4. Nor did his designs of mercy take their rise from any ex- 
pectation that a rebellions, guilty, perishing world would be so 
good as, of their accord, ever heartily to thank him for it. No, he 
knew well enough how it would be — that many would make 
light of it, and go their ways, one to his farm, another to his 
merchandize ; and that others would be affronted, and some so 
very angry that they would take his messengers, and stone one, 
and beat another, and kill another, and finally would crucify his 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 239 

Son : And he expected that mankind in general would be dis- 
posed to hate his law, and pervert his gospel, and resist his spir- 
it j and never one, in all the world, repent and convert, and 
come and humble himself before him, and bless his holy name, 
unless brought thereto by his own all-conquering grace,... Mat. 
xxi. 33 — 39,andxxii. 1 — 7 — Lukexiv. 16 — -23 — I. Cor. iii. 6, 7. 

So that, from the whole, it is very plain God was not moved 
to entertain thoughts of mercy towards mankind, neither under 
a notion that they had been, in any respect, hardly dealt with... 
nor under a notion that their impotency rendered them in any 
measure excusable. ..nor under a notion that there was any good 
in them or to be expected from them ; but, on the contrary, he 
looked upon the original constitution with Adam to be holy, 
just, and good — and that, upon that footing, ail mankind deser- 
ved ruin ; and he looked upon the law of nature also holy, 
just, and good — and that, upon that footing, a wicked world de- 
served his everlasting wrath ; and he looked upon them alto- 
gether criminal for their impotency ; — in a word, he looked up- 
on them voluntary in their rebellion, and obstinate in their en- 
mitv, and infinitely unworthy of the least pity — yea, so unwor- 
thy of pity, that, to secure his own honor, and to save himself 
from just reproach, while he pitied them, and showed them mer- 
cy, he thought it needful that his own Son should become a 
Mediator, and bear their sin and suffer for their guilt, and so 
open a way for the honorable exercise of his mercy. 
To conclude, therefore, 

5. It is evident that his designs of mercy took their rise mere- 
ly, absolutely, and entirely from iiimsef..fro?n his own infinite 
benevolence.* ..fro??! his self -moving goodness and sovereign grace. 
God so loved the world — 

As for us, we lay in the open field of perdition, polluted, per- 
ishing in our blood and guilt ; and it was perfectly right that 
the righteous sentence of the law should be executed upon us : 
And God had been forever glorious in the everlasting ruin of a 
rebellious world. There was nothing in our circumstances, all 
tilings considered, of the nature of a motive to pity : We were 



2f)€> TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

too bad to deserve any pity or relief ;— -yea, so bad, that the 
great Governor of the world could not, without counteracting 
all good rules of government, show any mercy but by the 
interposition of his own Son, to stand and die in our room and 
stead : So that, instead of any motive to pity, there was every 
thing to the contrary, — Our infinite ill-desert lay as an infinite 
bar in the way. Here, now, was an opportunity for infinite good- 
ness and self-moving mercy to exert itself, in the most illustrious 
manner, in designing mercy.. .an providing a Mediator, and in 
opening a door for the exercise of much grace to mankind in 
general, and of special saving mercy in ten thousand thousand 
instances. There was nothing, ab extra, from without God 
himself, to move and put him on to such a wonderful and glo- 
rious enterprise. The motion was wholly from himself... from 
his self-moving goodness. ...from his good pleasure, according 
to the counsel of his own will.... Eph. i. 3 — 12 : No wonder, 
therefore, the gospel every where celebrates the love and good- 
ness, mercy and grace of God, as being rich and free, unparal- 
leled, unspeakable, inconceivable, infinitely great and glorious, 
as discovered in this most wonderful of all God's works : And 
to suppose that God w^as under any obligations to show these 
favors, would be to undermine and overthrow the whole gos- 
pel, and turn a deed of the freest and greatest grace into a work 
of mere justice. — Thus we see whence God's thoughts of mer- 
cy, towards a sinful, guilty world, had their rise. 

He had in view a great variety of glorious designs, all infi- 
nitely w T ise....all suited to display the glorious perfections of his 
nature, and bring everlasting honors to his great name : He 
designed to destroy the works of the devil.. ..Gen* iii. 15 — I. 
^ohn iii. 8. Satan had induced mankind to their rebellion ; 
and had, perhaps, in his conceit too, made himself strong against 
the Almighty : He first rebelled himself, and now he had brought 
others to join with him, and in this world he intended to rule 
and reign ; and, by the whole, bring much reproach upon the 
rightful Lord of heaven and earth. God wrought, therefore, 
for his great name's sake, that it might not be polluted - 7 and en- 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 291 

tered upon methods to defeat his designs, and bring his king- 
dom to nought, and crush the rebellion, and put him to open 
shame — and at length bind him up in his chains, that he should 
deceive the nations of the earth no more — and give all nations, 
languages, and tongues, to Jesus Christ, and bring the whole 
world into subjection to him.. ..Rev. xx. 1 — 4. He designed 
to display his glorious grace, in bringing millions of this sedu- 
ced, apostate race from the jaws of eternal destruction to eter- 
nal glory.. ..Rom. ix. 23 — Eph. ii. 7. He designed to put all 
mankind in a new state of probation, and to display his glorious 
goodness, patience, forbearance, and long-suffering, in his deal- 
ings with the obstinate and finally impenitent in this world, and 
his glorious holiness and justice in their everlasting punishment 
in the world to come, in the same lake of fire and brimstone 
which was prepared for the devil and his angels, with whom 
they had joined in their rebellion against the Majesty of heaven 
....Acts xiv. 17 — Rom. ii. 4, and xix. 22 — Mat. xxv. 41 : — In a 
word, he designed to take occasion, from the apostacy of man- 
kind, in the innumerable instances in this world, and through- 
out eternal ages in the world to come, to display all his glori- 
ous perfections : and so, by his whole conduct, to exhibit a 
most perfect and exact image of himself. 

Thus we see that his designs of mercy towards a rebellious, 
guilty, undone world, took their rise, not from any motives in. 
us, but altogether from motives in himself — from the infinite, 
boundless goodness of his nature, and his sovereign good plea- 
sure : And in this light must we view the grace of the gospel ; 
and all our encouragements to hope in his mercy, through Je- 
sus Christ, must take their rise, not from any thing in ourselves, 
but only from that self-moving goodness and free grace which 
be has manifested through Jesus Christ.. ..Rom. iii. 19, 20, 24 
—Eph. ii. 8. 

And thus we see that his end, as to the elect, was to bring 
them back from their apostacy, their rebellion, and wickedness, 
and ruin, to God, their rightful Lord and Sovereign, to become 
his servants, to love him, and live to him, and live upon him, 



292 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

and be blessed in him forever : And in this light must we view 
the gospel ; and with this its design must we heartily fall in. 
And being encourged, by the grace of the gospel, to hope for 
acceptance in the sight of God, through Jesus Ghrrst, we must, 
through Christ, give up ourselves to God, to be his ser- 
vants ioYt\tr....Luke L 74, 75 — 11. Cor. v. 20 — Rom. xii. 1 — 
TiLiwll— 14. 

From what has been said, it will be very natural to make 
these following remarks : 

Rem. 1. If ail God has done in the gospel, for our recove- 
ry from ruin, be of mere free grace, then it is self-evident that 
God -was under no obligations to a fallen, sinful, guilty, rebellious* 
world ; but, as for us, might have, consistent ■■with all his perfec- 
tions, left us in ruin, to inherit the fruit of our doings, and the 
-punishment of our sin. He was under no obligation to provide 
a Redeemer, or a Sanctifter....to give the least hint of a pardon, 
or take any methods to recover us from the power of sin. He 
was under no obligations to deal any better by us, than would, 
in the whole, be no worse than damnation. By the constitu- 
tion with Adam, and by the law of nature, this would have 
been our proper due. Every thing, therefore, whereby our 
circumstances have been rendered better than the circumstan- 
ces of the damned, God was under no obligations unto ; but 
all, over and above that, has been of free and sovereign grace*. 
God was at liberty, as to us, not to have done any of these things 
for us : Yea, there were on our part mighty hinde ranees to pre- 
vent the mercy of God, and to put a bar in the way of the free 
and honorable exercise of his grace : even such hinderances, that 
nothing could remove them, but the blood of Christ. Hence, 

Rem. 2. Mankind were, by their fall, brought into a state of 
being infinitely worse than not to be. The damned in hell, no 
doubt, are in such a state, else their punishment would not be 
infinite ; as justice requires it should be: But mankind, by 
the fail, were brought into a state, for substance,* as bad as that 

* For substance* I say, because it must be remembered that the superad- 
ded punishment inflicted upon :m\ in hell, for despising the gospel, must 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 293 

which the damned are in ; For the damned undergo nothing 
in hell, but what, by the constitution with Adam, and the law 
of nature, all mankind were, and would have been, for substance > 
exposed unto, if mere grace had not prevented. And, accord- 
ing to what was but now observed, God was under no more 
obligation to grant any relief to mankind, in this their fallen, 
sinful, guilty, undone condition, than he is now to the damned 
in hell ; i. e. under no obligations at all : but the way for mer- 
cy to come to them was mightily barred and blocked up, by 
the infinite reasonableness of their being punished, and their 
infinite unworthiness, in the very nature of things, as the case 
then stood, of ever being pitied : So that mankind were, by 
the fall, brought into a state of being, (in scripture called con- 
demnatidn and wrath. ...Rom. v. 18 — JLph. iL 3,) for substance, 
as bad as that which the damned are in ; so that, if the damned 
are in a state of being infinitely worse than not to be, as no 
doubt thevare, then so also were mankind : And mankind be- 
ing actually brought into such a state by the fall, is what renders 
the grace of the gospel so inconceiveble, so unspeakable in its 
greatness, and so absolutely free. To deny that mankind, by 
the fall, were brought into such a state, is the same thing, in ef- 
fect, as to deny original sin, and undermine the glorious grace 
of the gospel. 

Obj. But how could God, consistent with his perfections, put 
us into a state of being zuorse than not to be ? Or how can we 
ever thank God for such a being ? 

Ass. Our being brought into so bad a state was not ow- 
ing to God, i. e. to any fault in him, but merely to ourselves.... 
to our apostacy from God. It was our apostacv from God 
that brought all this upon us, in way of righteous judgment.... 
Rom. v. 18, 19. Our being in so bad a state is no more owing 
to God, than theirs is who are now in hell. They deserve to 
be in hell, according to a law that is holy, just, and good ; and 

be left out ef the account : For all this is over and above what, b; 

istitution with Adam, and rhc law of nature, . i r ever 

•vould have been exposed unto 



294 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

we deserve to be in such a state, according to the constitution 
made with Adam, which was also holy, just, and good : and 
therefore the one may be consistent with the divine perfections, 
as well as the other. It cannot be disagreeable to the holiness, 
justice, and goodness of the divine nature, to deal with man- 
kind according to a constitution, in its own nature holy, just, 
and good. 

Now, in as much as God did virtually giv e being to all man- 
kind, when he blessed our first parents, and said, Be fruitful, 
and multiply ; and in as much as being, under the circumstances 
that man was then put in by God, was very desirable,., we ought, 
therefore, to thank God for our being, considered in this light, 
and justify God in all the evil that is come upon us for our 
apostacy ; for the Lord is righteous, and we are a guilty race. 

Those in hell are in a state of being infinitely worse than not 
to be ; and, instead of thanking God for their beings, they blas- 
pheme his name : but still there is no just ground for their con- 
duct : They have no reason to think hard of God for damning 
them ; they have no reason to blame him ; they have no rea- 
son to esteem him any the less for it : he does what is fit to be 
done : His conduct is amiable ; and he is worthy of being es- 
teemed for doing as he does.. ..and all holy beings will always 
esteem him for it.., .(Rev. xix. 1 — 6.) Therefore the damned 
ought to ascribe all their evil to themselves, and justify God, 
and say, " He gave us being.. .and it was a mercy.. .and he de- 
" serves thanks ; but to us it is owing that we are now in a state 
" infinitely worse than not to be : God is not to blame for that ; 
c< nor is he the less worthy of thanks for giving us being, and 
u for all past advantages which we ever enjoyed: for the 
u law is holy, just, and good, by and according to which we - 
" suffer all these things :" — So here : Mankind, by the fall, 
were brought into a state of being infinitely worse than not to 
be : and were they but so far awake as to be sensible of it, they 
would no doubt, all over the earth, murmur, and blaspheme the 
God of heaven. But what then ?... There would be no just 
ground for such conduct : We have no reason to think hard 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 295 

of God — to blame him, or to esteem him any the less. What 
he has done was fit and right ; his conduct was beautiful ; and 
he is worthy to be esteemed for it : for that constitution was ho- 
ly, just, and good, as has been proved : And therefore a fallen 
world ought to ascribe to themselves all their evil, and to justi- 
fy God, and say, " God gave us being under a constitution ho* 
" ly, just, and good ; and it was a mercy : We should have ac- 
ic counted it a great mercy, in case Adam had never fallen ; but 
" God was not to blame for this. ...nor therefore is he the less 
u worthy of thanks : All that we suffer is by and according to 
iC a constitution in its own nature holy, just, and good :'* 
Thus mankind ought to have said, had God never provided a 
Savior, but left all the world in ruin : and thus ought they to 
have justified God's conduct — laid all the blame to themselves, 
and acknowledged that God deserved praise from all his works ; 
which, as they came out of his hands,rvere all very good,... Gtn* 
i. 31. 

Obj. But although we were, by the fall, brought into such a 
state of wrath and condemnation, yet now we are delivered out of 
it by Christ ; for as, in Adam, all die, so, in Christ, shall all be 
made alive. 

Ans. Before men believe in Christ, they are as justly expo- 
sed to divine vengeance, as if Christ had never died.. ..John iii. 

18, 36 : And there is nothing to keep off vengeance, one mo* 
ment, but sovereign mercy ; which yet they continually affront 
and provoke. ...Rom. ii. 4, 5 : And they are so far from an in* 
clination to turn to God of their own accord, that they are dis- 
posed to resist all the means used to reclaim them.... Jolui iii. 

19. It is true, God is ready, through Christ, to receive return- 
ing sinners, and invites all to return through him : Thus God 
is good and kind to an apostate world, and offers us mercy. God 
is not to blame that we are in so bad a case : our destruction b 
of ourselves, and the Lord is righteous : But still it is evident 
we are in a perishing condition, and shall certainly perish, not- 
withstanding all that we, of our own mere motion, ever shall do* 
If sovereign grace does not prevent, there is no hope. 



296 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

Obj. But if mankind are thus, by nature, children of wrath 
— in a, state of being worse than not to be, and, even after all that 
Christ has done, are in themselves thus utterly undone, how can 
men have a heart to propagate their kind, or account it a blessing 
to have a numerous posterity ? 

Ans. It is manifest by their conduct — by their neglecting 
their children's souls, and caring only for their bodies, that pa- 
rents, in general, do not propagate with any concern about the 
spiritual and eternal well-being of their posterity. It is proba- 
ble, in general, they are influenced by the same motive that the 
brutal world are, together with a desire to have children under 
the notion of a worldly comfort, without scarcely a thought of 
what will become of their posterity for eternity. 

As to godly parents, they have such a spirit of love to God, 
and resignation to his will, and such an approbation of his dis- 
pensations toward mankind,and such a liking to his whole scheme 
of government, that they are content that God should gov- 
ern the world as he doss... .and that he should have subjects to 
govern. ...and that themselves and their posterity should be un- 
der him, and at his disposal : Nor are they without hopes of 
mercy for their children, from sovereign grace through Christ, 
while they do, through him, devote and give them up to God, 
and bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord ; 
And thus they quiet themselves as to their souls. And now, 
considering children merely as to this life, it is certain that it is 
a great comfort and blessing to parents to have a promising off- 
spring. 

As to carnal men, since they are enemies to God and his ho- 
ly law, 'it is no wonder they are at enmity against his whole 
scheme of conduct as Governor of the world. Did they un- 
derstand how God governs the world, and firmly believe it, 
I doubt not it would make all their native enmity ferment to 
perfection : They would wish themselves to be from under 
God's government, and hate that he should ever have any thing 
of theirs to govern : As soon as ever they enter into the eternal 
world, and see how things really are, this will, no doubt, actual- 



DISTINGUISHED IROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 297 

!y be their case : — In a word, if men heartily like the original 
constitution with Adam, as being, in its own nature, holy, just, 
and good, this objection will, upon mature consideration, be no 
difficulty with them ; and if they do not, it is not any thing that 
can be said, will satisfy them. But wicked men's not liking 
the constitution, does not prove it to be bad. 

Obj. It cannot be thought a blessing to. have children, if the 
most of them are likely, finally, to perish. 

Ans. The most of Abraham's posterity, no doubt, for above 
these three thousand years, have been wicked, and have perish- 
ed y and God knew before-hand how it would be ; and yet he 
promised such a numerous posterity under the notion of a great 
blessing.. ..Gen, xxii ; For, considering children merely as to this 
life, they may be a great blessing and comfort to parents, and 
an honor to them ; but it is very fitting our children should be 
God's subjects, and under his government : Nor are they any 
the less blessings to us, as to this life, because they must be ac- 
countable to God in the life to come : They may be a great 
comfort to us in this life ; and we are certain God will do them 
no wrong in the life to come. All men's murmuring thoughts 
about this matter arise from their not liking God's way of gov- 
erning the~ world. 

Rem. 3. Then do we begin to make a fist estimate of the grace 
...the free, rich, and glorious grace of God, the great Governor of 
the world, displayed in the gospel, when we consider mankind, by 
and according to a constitution and a law, both ofth&m holy, just, 
and good, actually in such a ruined state. Now we may begin 
a littie more to see the natural import of those words, God s& 
loved the world : such a world was it, that he loved and pitied : 
a world in so bad a state : a perishing world, sinful, guilty, just- 
ly condemed, altogether helpless and undone : And to have a 
door opened by the blood of Christ, for us to be raised from the 
depth of such ruin, is wonderful grace indeed. And i.i this 
light does the matter stand in scripture-account : for, according 
to that, by the offence of one, judgment came upon all to condem- 
nation ; and, by the disobedience of one, many vjcre made (or 



298 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATE!^, AND 

constituted) sinners, by virtue of the original constitution with 
Adam*. ...Rom. v. 18, 19 : And all the world stood guilty be* 
Jbre God, by virtue of their want of conformity unto and trans- 
gression of the law of nature, or moral hew.. ..Rom* iii. 9, 19: 
And hence mankind were considered as being under sin, and 
under the curse of the law, and under the wrath of God*... Rom* 
iii. 9-— Gal. iii. 10 — -John iii. 16 — Rom. i. 18 : And under this 
notion Christ was appointed, to save his people from their sins^ 
(Mat. i. 21) — 4o deliver them from the wrath to come, (I. Thes. 
i. 10) — and to bring it to pass, that whereas, by the disobedience 
cfone, many were made sinners, so, by the obedience of one, many 
might be made righteous. ...Rom. v. 19 ; And hence the gospel 
so mightily magnifies the grace of God, his love and goodness % 
as being unparalleled, unspeakable, inconceivable,passing knowl- 
edge* God so loved the world, says Chx\st....God commendeth 
his love, saithPaul...,Zfem*?2 is love, says John. It has height 
and length, depth and breadth : It is rich grace, and the exceed- 
ing riches of grace. And why ? why is it so magnified and ex- 
tolled ?— Why, for this, among other reasons, because all this 
was done while we did not love God.. ..while we were sinners.... 
while we were ungodly *.*. while we were enemies.... while we 
were exposed to xurath, guilty before God, perishing, lost, without 
strength : Thus God has represented it in his word — his word 
which is the image of his mind, and which shows us how he 
looks upon things, and how they really are. — See John iii. 16, 
36 — Rom. v. 6, 7, 8 — I. John iy. 10 — Eph. i. 7, and ii. 7, 8, and 
iii. 19-— Mat. xviii. 11, &c. 

Never, therefore, can a sinner rightly understand the gospel 
of Christ, or see his need of the provision therein made, or in 
any measure make a just estimate of the grace of God therein 
displayed, until he is, in some measure, convinced and made re- 
ally sensible, by the spirit of God, that he is actually in such a 
sinful, guilty, helpless, undone condition. This, therefore, is 

* Constituted sinners, it is in the original ; for it was by virtue of that 
primitive constitution with Adam, that his hrst sin laid all his posterity un- 
sin, guilt, and ruin. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 299 

absolutely necessary, in order to a genuine compliance with the 
gospel by faith in Jesus Christ. Luke v. 31. ...For the whole 
need not a physician^but they that arc sick : And as this is re- 
quisite, in order to the first act of faith, so, for the same reason, 
must we all our days live under a realizing sense of this our sin- 
ful, guilty, undone state, by nature, and in ourselves, in order to 
live by faith : And this will make Christ precious, and the grace 
of the gospel precious — and effectually awaken us to gratitude 
and thankfulness ; for now every thing in our circumstances, 
wherein we are better of it than the damned, will be accounted 
so great a mercy, and the effect of mere grace : And so far as 
we are from a clear sight and realizing sense of this our sinful, 
guilty, undone state, so far shall we be insensible of the precious- 
ness of Christ, and the freeness of grace, and the greatness of 
God's mercy towards us. 

Thus, having considered the grounds upon which the most 
high God did look upon mankind as being in a perishing condi- 
tion, and the motives whereby he was excited to enter upon any 
methods for their recovery, we proceed now more particularly 
to consider the xuays and means he has taken and used to bring 
it about. 

SECTION III. 

CONCERNING THE NATURE AND NECESSITY OF SATISFACTION 

FOR SIN. 

I am now, 
III. To show what necessity there was for a Mediator, and 
how the zvay to life has been opened by him whom God has pre 
vided. It is plainly supposed that there was a necessity of a 
Mediator, and of such an one too as God has actually provided, 
in order to our salvation ; for, otherwise, it had been no love or 
goodness in God to have given his only begotten Son : For there 
can be no love or goodness in his doing that for us which we 
do not need, and without which we might have been saved as 
well. Nor is it to be supposed that God would give his Son 
to die for a guiltv world without urgent necessity. If some 
cheaper and easier way might have been found out, he would 



300 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

surely have spared his beloved Son ; he had no inclination t< 
make light of his Son's blood ; it was a great thing for a God 
to become incarnate, and die ; and there must, therefore, have 
been some very urgent considerations, to induce the wise Gov° 
ernor of the world to such an expedient : And here, then, these 
things may be particularly enquired into ; 

1. What necessity was there of satisfaction for sin ? 

2. What satisfaction has there been made ? And wherein 
does its sufficiency consist I . 

3. How has the way to life been opened by the means? 

4. What methods has the great Governor of the world enter- 
ed upon for the actual recovery of sinful creatures ? 

1. We are to consider what necessity there was of satisfu 
tionfor sin. It was needful, or else no satisfaction would hav( 
been ever required or made : And the necessity was certainl; 
very great and urgent, or the Father would never have been 
willing to have given his Son 7 or the Son to have undertakei 
the work.,. .a work attended with so much labor and suffering; 
But why was it necessary ? This, I think, will appear, if we de- 
liberately and seriously weigh these things t 

(1,) That God, the great Creator, Preserver, and absolute 
Lord of the whole zvorld, is not only a Being of infinite under' 
standing and almighty power, but also a Being infinite and un? 
changeable in all moral propensities : he loves right and hates 
wrong to an infinite degree, and unchangeably ; or, in scripture- 
language, he thus loves righteousness and hates iniquity. By his 
infinite understanding, he sees all things as being what they re- 
ally are : Whatsoever is fit and right, he beholds as being such"; 
and whatsoever is unfit and wrong, he also beholds as being 
such : And as are his views, so is the temper of his heart — he 
infinitely loves that which is fit and right, and infinitely hates 
that which is unfit and wrong : or, in other words, he has an 
infinite sense of the moral fitness and unfitness of things, and 
an answerable frame of heart ; i. e. infinitely loves the one, and 
infinitely hates the other. From eternity, God has had an all- 
comprehensive view of things. ...of every thing that was possi- 



DISTINGUISHED TROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 301 

■ble to be or that actually would be. ...and of all the relations one 
being would bear to another, and the relation that all would bear 
to him — and has seen what conduct would be right and fit in 
him towards them, and in them towards him and towards one 
another, and what would be wrong : and, from eternity, it has 
been his nature infinitely to love that which is right, and hate 
that which is wrong : And this, his nature, has influenced him 
in all his conduct, as moral Governor of the world ; and he has 
given so bright a representation of it, that this seems to be the 
first and most natural idea of God that we can attain : It shines 
through all the scriptures.... thro ugh the law and the gospel, and 
through his whole conduct, in a thousand instances. 

God does not appear to be a Being influenced, acted, and 
governed by a groundless, arbitrary self-will, having no regard 
to right reason. ...to the moral fitness and unfitness of things ; 
nor does he appear to be a Being governed and acted by a 
groundless fondness to his creatures. If a thing is not right, 

he will not do it, merely because he is above controul is the 

greatest and strongest, and can bear down all before him.. ..Gen. 
xviii. 25 : And if a thing is wrong, he will not connive at it at 
all, because it was acted by his creatures, although ever so dear 
to him, and although the most exalted in dignity, honor, and 
privileges ; — for instance, the shining angels... .sinning Adam.... 
the Israelites in the wilderness, his peculiar people. Moses, 
for speaking unadvisedly with his lips, shall not enter into Ca- 
naan. David, the man after his own heart, he sinned ; and 
the sxvord, says God, shall not depart from thy house : Yea, he 
spared not his own Son, when he stood in the room of sinners. 
If he had been governed by any thing like human fondness, sure- 
ly it would now have appeared : And besides, if that were the 
-case, he could never bear to see the damned lie in the dreadful 
torments of hell to all eternity : Indeed, by all he has said, and 
by all he has done, he appears to have an infinite sense of the 
moral fitness and unfitness of things, and an answerable frame 
of heart ; and to be governed and actuated by this temper, un- 
der the direction of infinite wisdom : Hence, as is \iv* nature % 



302 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, ANB 

so is the name which he has taken to himself, viz. the holy one 
of Israel. 

It is true he is a Being of infinite goodness and mercy ; yet 
that is not nfond, but a holy propensity, under the government 
of infinite wisdom : that is, he considers the happiness and good 
of his creatures, his intelligent creatures, as being what it is.-^— 
He sees what it is worth, and of how great importance it is ; 
and how much to be desired, in itself, and compared with other 
things : he sees it to be just what it really is, and has an an- 
swerable disposition of heart, i.e. is desirous of their happi- 
ness, and averse to their misery, in an exact proportion to the 
real nature of the things in themselves. It is true, so great is 
his benevolence, that there is not any act of kindness or grace 
so great, but that he can find in his heart to do it — yea, has 
an infinite inclination to do it, if, all things considered, in his un- 
erring wisdom, he judges it fit and best : and yet, at the same 
time, it is as true, such is the perfect rectitude and spotless pu- 
rity of his nature, that there is not any act of justice so tremen- 
dous, or any misery so dreadful, but that he can find in his 
heart, his creatures 5 happiness notwithstanding, to do that act of 
justice, and inflict that misery, if need so require — yea, he has 
an infinite inclination thereto. He regards their happiness and 
misery as being what they are, of very great importance in 
themselves, but of little importance, compared with something 
else. He had rather the whole system of intelligent creatures 
should lie in hell to all eternity, than do the very least thing that 
is in itself unfit and wrong : Yea, if it was put to his own case f 
if we could possibly suppose such a thing, he would make it ap- 
pear that he does as he would be done by, when he punishes 
sinners to all eternity. It was, in a sort, put to his own case 
once, when his Son, who was as himself, stood in the room of 
a guilty world — and his heart did not fail him ; but he appeared 
as great an enemy to sin then as ever he did, or will do to all 
eternity. His treating his Son as he did, in the garden and up- 
on the cross, immediately himself and by his instruments, was 
as bright an evidence of the temper of his heart, as if he had 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 

damned the whole world. He appeared what he was then, a? 
much as he will at the day of judgment : He is infinite in good- 
ness ; yet he is infinitely averse to do any act of kindness, at 
the expence of justice, from mere fondness to his creatures. 

And as his goodness is not fondness, so his justice is not cru- 
He infinitely hates that which is unfit and wrong, and is 
disposed to testify his hatred in some visible, public manner, 
by inflicting some proportionable punishment ; — not because sin- 
ners hurt him, and so make him angry and revengeful ; for their 
obedience can do him no good, nor their disobedience anv hurt 
....Job xxxv, 6, 7 ; — nor indeed so much because they hurt 
themselves ; for if they did wrong in no other respect, he would 
never treat them with such severity : but this is the truth of 
the case — the great Governor of the world has an infinite sense 
of the moral fitness and unfitness of things, and an answerable 
frame of heart : and so he infinitely loves that which is fit, and 
commends and rewards it j and infinitely hates the contrary, 
and forbids and punishes it \ — only it must be remembered, that 
the rewards he grants to the good are of mere bounty as to 
them, because they can deserve nothing.. ,.Ro?n, xi. C>5. But 
punishments he inflicts on the wicked are pure justice, be- 
cause thev deserve dlL...Rom, vi. 23 : For although creatures 
cannot merit good at the hands of God, from whom they receive 
ill, and to whom they owe all, yet they can merit ml : Never- 
theless, rewards and punishments are both alike in this respect, 
viz. that they are visible public testimonies borne by the Gov- 
ernor pf the world to the moral amiableness of virtue on the 
one hand, and to the moral hatefulness of vice on the ether. — 
The one is not the effect of fondness, nor the other of cruelty ; 
but the one results from the holiness and goodness of the divine 
nature, and the other from his holiness and justice. By the 
one, it appears how he loves virtue, and how exceedingly boun- 
tiful he is; and, by the other, how he hates sin, andhow much he 
isdisposed to discountenance it, by treating h asbein what it . 

Thus, I say, in die first place, we must con rod, the 

preme Governor of the world, as a Being not only of infinite 

Q cl 






30-* TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

understanding and almighty power, but also infinite and un 
changeable in all moral propensities — as one having a perfect 
sense of the moral fitness and unfitness of things, and an answer- 
able frame of heart ; or, in scripture-language, Holy, holy, holy, 
Lord God Almighty. ...the holy one of Israel: The Lord God gra- 
cious and merciful, but by no means clearing the guilty ....Of pu- 
rer eyes than to behold iniquity.. ..Who loveth righteousness and 
hateth iniquity ....Who renders to every one according to their do- 
ings, &c. Without a right idea of God, the supreme Gover- 
nor of the world, and a realising, living sense of him -on ou*: 
hearts, it is impossible we should rightly understand the meth- 
ods he has taken to open a way for his mercy to come out after 
a rebellious, guilty world, or truly see into the grounds of his 
conduct — the reasons of his doing as he has done. If we know 
God, and have a taste for moral beauty, we shall be in a dispo- 
sition to understand the gospel ; but otherwise we shall not.... 
John vii. 17, and viii; 47 : For, in the whole of this great affair 
of our redemption, he has acted altogether like himself. 

(2.) God is infinitely excellent, glorious, and amiable in being 
what he is. His having such a nature or temper, and, at the 
same time, being of infinite understanding and almighty power, 
renders him infinitely excellent, glorious, and amiable, far be- 
yond the conceptions of any finite mind. Isa. vi. o.... Holy, ho- 
ly, holy, Lord God Almighty, the whole earth is full of thy glory. 

Hence, God loves, esteems, and delights in himself infinitely : 
not indeed from what we call a selfish spirit ; for could we sup- 
pose there was another just what he is, and himself an inferior, 
he would love, esteem, and delight in that other, as entirely as 
he does now in himself: It is his being what he is, that is the 
ground of his self-love, esteem, and delight. 

Hence, again, he loves to act like himself in all his conduct as 
moral Go\ ernor of the world, as entirely as he loves himscf ; 
and it is as much contrary to his nature to counteract the temper 
of his heart, in his public conduct, as to cease to be what he is : 
And the plain r< ason is, that there is the same ground for the 
one as for the other. He loves himself, because he is most ex- 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 305 

cellcnt in being what he is ; and, for the same reason, he loves 
to act like himself, because that is most excellent too : He can- 
not be willing to cease to be of that temper or nature he is of, 
because it is most excellent ; and, for the same reason, he can- 
not be willing to counteract it, because it is most excellent to 
act agreeably to it in all things : He is under necessity to love 
himself ; and he is under the same necessity to act like him- 
sel£...G^z. xviii. 25 : Hence it is a common thing for God, in 
great earnestness, to say in his word, J will do so and so, and 
they shall know that I am the Loe.d : as if he should say — 
u A guilty, rebellious race may think and say what they will 
" of me, yet I am what I am, and I will act like myself, and all 
" the world shall know that I am the Lord, i. e. that I am what 
u I pretend to be : They shall know it by my conduct., sooner 
" or later." 

(3.) God cannot be said to act like himself, unless he appears as 
great an enemy to sin^ in his public government of the world, as 
he really is at heart. If his conduct as moral Governor of the 
world, the whole being taken together, should look with a more 
favorable aspect towards sin, or appear less severe than really 
he is, then it is self-evident that his conduct would not be like 
himself, nor would it tend to exhibit a true idea of him to ail 
attentive spectators in ail his dominions. If his creatures and 
subjects, in such a case, should judge of his nature by his con- 
duct, they would necessarily frame wrong notions of the divine 
Being : And he himself must see. and know that he did not act 
like himself ; nor appear, In his conduct, to,, be what he was in 
his heart. 

But God, the supreme Governor of the world, does,, at heart, 
look upon sin as an infinite evil ; and his aversion and enmitv 
to it is infinite. He looks upon it, and (to sneak of him after 
the manner of men) is affected towards it, as being what it re- 
ally is. But it is infinitely wrong and wicked, for us not to 
love him with all our heart, and obey him in every thing : The 
least sin is an infinite evil ; and such he sees it to be, and as 
such does he abhor it. The infinite evil of sin does not consist 



306 THUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

in its lessening God's essential glory or blessedness ; for they 
are both independent on us, and far out of our reach : nor does 
it consist merely in its tendency to make us miserable : But, 
in its own nature, it is infinitely wrong, in as much as we are 
under infinite obligations to perfect holiness. Our obligations 
to love God with all our heart are in proportion to his amiable- 
ness ; but that is infinite : not to do so, therefore, is infinitely 
wrong. But, as has been said, God has an infinite sense of 
the moral fitness and unfitness of things, and an answerable 
frame of heart : i. e. he infinitely loves that which is right, and 
infinitely hates that which is wrong : And therefore he infinite- 
ly hates the least sin. 

If, therefore, he acts like himself, he must, in his public gov- 
ernment of the world, his whole conduct being taken together, 
appear, in the most evident manner, to be an infinite enemy to 
the least sin : He must appear infinitely severe against it ; and 
never do any thing, which, all things considered, seems to look 
at all with another aspect. 

(4.) God, ilie supreme Governor of the world, cannot be said 
to appear an infinite enemy to sin, and to appear infinitely se* 
vere against it, and that without the least appearance of a favora- 
ble aspect tovjards it in his conduct, unless he does always, through- 
out all his dominions, not only in word threaten, but in fact pun- 
ish it, with infinite severity, without the least mitigation or abate* 
ment in any one instance whatsoever* 

If he should never, in his government of the world, say or 
do any thing against sin, it would seem as if he was a friend to 
it, or at least very indifferent about it* If he should say, and 
not do.. ..threaten to punish, but never inflict the punishment, 
his creatures and subjects might be tempted to say, " He pre- 
tends to be a mighty enemy to sin, and that is all." If he 
should generally punish sin with infinite severity, but not al- 
ways, there would at least be some favorable aspect towards 
sin, in his visible conduct ,* and his subjects might be ready to 
say, u If he can sufFer sin- to go half unpunished, why not alto- 
u gether ? And if altogether at one time, why not at another ? 



DISTINGUISHED WHOM ALL COL^XTZRIEITS. 307 

u And if he can abate the threatened punishment in some de- 
44 gree, in some instances, why net altogether, in all instances? 
" If there is no absolute necessity that sin should be punished, 
a whv does he ever punish it ? But if it be absolutely necessary, 
" why does he ever suffer it to go unpunished V] It would seem, 
at least, by such a conduct, as if sin was not so exceedingly bad 
a thing but that it might escape punishment sometimes — and 
as if God was not such an infinite, unchangeable enemv to it, 
but that he might be disposed to treat it with a little favor : — In 
a word, if God should always punish sins, not one excepted, 
and that throughout ail his dominions, and yet not do it always 
with infinite severity ; but, in some instances, one in a million 
we will say, should abate a little, and but a very little ; yet so 
much as he abates, be it mere or less, so much does he treat 
sin in a favorable manner, and so much does he fall short of 
treating it with due severity, and so far does he appear, in his 
conduct, from being an infinite, unchangeable enemy to it : So 
that it is very evident that he cannot, in his conduct, as moral 
Governor of the world, appear an infinite, unchangeable enemy 
to sin, without the least appearance to the contrary, in any oth- 
er possible way or method, than by always punishing it with in- 
finite severity, without the least abatement, in anyone instance, 
in anv part of his dominions, in time or eternity. And this 
would be to act like himself ; and in and by such conduct, he 
would appear to be what he is. But to do otherwise, would 
be to counteract his own nature, and give a false representation 
of his heart, by a conduct unlike himself. 

Thus, it is the nature of God, the great Governor of the 
world, in all his conduct, to act like himself : But he cannot be 
said to act like himself, unless he appears as great an ehciin' to 
sin, and as severe against it, as he really is, without the least 
shadow of the contrary : but his conduct cannot appear in this 
light, unless he does, in fact, punish sin with infinite severity, 
throughout all his dominions, without the least . ion, in 

anv one instance, in time or eternity : therefore i: is the nature 
of God, the Governor of the worid, to do so ; and therefore he 



303 TRUE RELIGION. DELINEATED, AND 

can no sooner, nor any easier, be willing to let any sin go un- 
punished, than he can to cease to be what he is :* For, as was 
before proved, it is as impossible for him to act contrary to his 
own nature, as it is to cease to be what he is : and he can con- 
sent to the one as easily as to the other. 

Hence, we may learn,, this is really a branch of the law of na- 
ture, That sin should be punished : it results from the nature of 
God, the Governor of the world ; it was no arbitrary constitu- 
tion \ it did not result from the divine sovereignty. It would, 
in the nature of things, have been no evil for Adam to have 
eaten of the tree of knowledge, had not God forbidden it ; here- 
in God exercised his sovereign authority, as absolute Lord of 
all things : But in threatening sin with eternal death, he acted 
not as a sovereign, but as a righteous Governor : his nature 
prompted him to do so ; he could not have done otherwise. 
As it is said in another case, It is impossible for God to lie ; so 
it may be said here, It is impossible for God to let sin go unpun- 
ished. As he cannot go counter to himself in speaking, so nei- 
ther in acting. It is as contrary to his nature to let sin go un- 
punished, as it is to lie; for his justice is as much himself, as 
his truth ; and it is, therefore, equally impossible he should act 
contrary to either. 

Kence, this branch of the law of nature is not capable of any 
repeal or abatement : For since it necessarily results from the 
nature of God, the Governor of the world, it must necessarily 
remain in force so long as God continues to be what he is. 
Besides, if God should repeal it, he must not only counteract 
his own nature, but also give great occasion to ail his subjects 
to think he was once too severe against sin, and that now he 
had altered his mind, and was become more favorable towards 
it : which he can no more be willing to do, than he can be wil- 

* God's mild and kind conduct towards a guilty world at present, is noth- 
ing inconsistent with this ; because mankind are now dealt with in and 
through a mediator, upon whom our sins have been laid, and who has been 
made a curse for us. In him our sins have been treated with infinite sever- 
ity, without the least abatement. But for this, God's conduct, no douWt, 
T^ould be very inconsistent with his perfections. 



DISTINGUISHED rmOM ALL COUMTRFZITo. 509 

ling actually to cease to be what he is : For, as he loves him- 
self perfectly for being what he is, so he perfectly loves to act 
like himself, and to appear in his conduct just as he is in his 
heart: Therefore our Savior expressly asserts, That heaven 
and earth shall pa f . foA wot me jot or tittle of the lazo 

shall/:. v. IS. 

(5.) I thstajuEng, yet God did, c f.rzite 

inessands: 71 grace, enter:. of met rds 

a fallen ....a rebellious, obstinate, stubborn, siiij 

hell-des ?, under the rig the law 

»...a law, like himself, holy, just, and good. Particularly, he de- 
signed to declare himself reconcileabie to this sinful, guilty world 

3 put in I into a new state of probation.. ..to dry and see 

if th aid return unto him, and to use a variety 

r their recovery : And to make way for this, he 
.d to reprieve a guilty world, for a certain space of time, 
at utter rain he had threatened, and to grant a sufficien- 
cy of the good things of this life for their support, while in a 
state of probation ; and he also purposed to grant a general re- 
surrection from the dead, that those who should return to him 
and be iled might be most completely happy in the wc 1 .1 

to come. And because he knew their aversion to a reconcilia- 
tion, therefore he de- :o use a variety of external means 
to bring them to it : And b z he knew that mankind would 
be universally disposed to hate all such mean :t liking to 

and cast them off, and get from 
under them, therefore h. . ed, in his sovereign grace, to .- 

lect some part of mankind, (the Jews for instance] with whom, 
by his special providence. ..by the more open or seci\ 
of b . i ;rhty power, such means should be continued* A 

in the fulness of time, he purposed also to use equal, yea, great- 
er 1 with various nations of the Gen An ! au e 
he knew that all extern et all, v 
one consent, would refuse to re 

ciled, therefore he designed. providence by the mere 

common influences of his spirit, tc ins with 



310 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

many, and try them : And because he knew that this would 
never effectually persuade them, through the great perverseness 
of mankind, therefore he designed, by the special influences 
of his holy spirit, through his almighty power and all-conquer- 
ing grace, all their obstinacy notwithstanding, yet to reclaim, 
and recover, and bring home to himself, a certain number in 
this world, and here train them up for eternal glory, and finally 
bring them thereunto — and all of his sovereign goodness, and 
all to the praise of the glory of his grace. And towards the 
latter end of that space of time, in which this world was to be 
reprieved, it was his purpose more eminently to destroy Satan's 
kingdom on earth and his influence among mankind, and more 
generally recover the guilty nations from his thraldom, and set 
up his own kingdom on earth, to flourish in great glory and 
prosperity a thousand years : Such were his designs, as is evi- 
dent by the event of things, and from the revelation he has made 
in his word of what is yet to come to pass. 

(6.) But as the case then stood, it was not Jit that any of these 
favors should be granted to a guilty world ; no, not any thing 
that had so much as (all things considered) the nature of a mer- 
cy, without some sufficient salvo to the divine honor.* Indeed, 
some kind of reprieve, I presume, might have been granted to 
a guilty world, so as to have suffered the human race to have 
propagated, and the whole designed number to have been born 
— a reprieve, ail things considered, not of the nature of a mer- 

* Ob j. But if God could not, consistently with his perfections , shew any mercy 
to a guilty world without a sufficient salvo to his honor, h&ix could he, consistently 
with his perfections, provide than a mediator ? Was not this a great mercy ? 
And what salvo had he for his honor in doing it P 

Ans. The very doing of this thing itself was to secure his own honor. 
This was the very end he had nextly in view. Were it not for this end, 
a mediator had not been needful ; but a guilty world might have been par- 
doned by an act of absolute sovereign grace. Now his taking such a glo- 
rious method 10 secure his honor, and the honor of his law, and govern- 
ment, and sacred authority, had no tendency to misrepresent them : He 
acted in it just like himself. His infinite wisdom, holiness, justice, and 
goodness, are all at once most perfectly displayed in this conduct of the 
supreme Governor of the world ; particularly, his infinite hatred of sin^ 
and disposition to punish ir, appeared in the very act of appointing his Son 
to be a sacrifice for the sins of the world : For, in this act, it was manifest, 
that he did choose his own dear Son should himself bear the punishment of 
sin, rather than let it go unpunished. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 311 

cv : So the fallen angels seem to be under some kind of a re- 
prieve ; for they are reserved in chains, to the judgment of the 
great day, as condemned prisoners.. .II. Peter ii. 4. And hence, 
a number of them once cried out, Art thou come to torment us 
before the time ?....Mat. viii„ 29 : Yet we are not taught, in 
scripture, to look upon this as a mercy to them. But the scrip- 
tures teach us to consider our reprieve..., our worldly comforts 
....our means of grace.... our space for repentance. ...the restraints 
of providence, and the common influences of the spirit, as mer- 
cies—yea, as great mercies.... Rom. ii. 4 — Isaiah v. 4 — Deut. 
x. 18 — Acts xiv. 17 — Rev. ii. 21. All these common favors, 
therefore, as well as special and saving mercies, were not pro- 
per to be granted to such a guilty, hell-deserving world, by a 
holy, sin-hating, sin-revenging God. This was not to treat 
mankind as it was fit and meet they should be treated ; It was 
contrary to law that any favor at ail should, without a salvo to 
the divine honor, be granted them ; for, by law, they were all 
doomed to destruction : And it was contrary to the divine na- 
ture to do any thing in the case, that, all things considered, 
would have, in the least measure, a favorable aspect towards 
sin ; or so much as in the least tend to make him seem less se- 
vere against it, than if he had damned the whole world for their 
apostacy and rebellion. 

If God had set aside his law, which was the image of his 
heart, and undertaken and shown all these favors to a guilty 
world, without any salvo to his honor, his visible conduct would 
have been directly contrary to the inward temper of his heart ; 
and by it he would have counteracted his nature, and misrep- 
resented himself, dishonored his law, rendered his authority 
weak and contemptible, and opened a wide door for the encour- 
agement of rebellion, throughout all his dominions — and, in 
effect, gotten to himself the character the devil designed to give 
of him to our first parents, when he said, Tc shall not surely 
die, (Gen. hi. 4) — i. c. u God is not so severe against sin as he 
il pretends to be, and as you think for — nor does he hate it so 
u much, nor will he do as he says in the case." It was there- 
fore infinitely impossible. R r 



312 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 



(7.) To the end, therefore, that a way might be opened for 
him to put his designs of mercy in execution, consistently with him- 
self ...consistently with the honor of his holiness and justice, law 
and government, and sacred authority, something must be done 
by him in a public manner, as it were, in the sight of all worlds , 
whereby his infinite hatred of sin, and unchangeable resolution to 
punish it, might be as effectually manifested as if he had damned 
the whole world. Merely his saying that he infinitely hates 
sin, and looks upon it worthy of an infinite punishment, would 
not have manifested the inward temper of his heart in such a 
meridian brightness as if he had damned the whole world in 
very deed : but rather, his saying one thing, and doing another 
directly contrary, would have been going counter to himself ; 
especially, considering him as acting in the capacity of a Gov* 
ernor, to whom, by office, it belongs to put the law in execution, 
and cause justice to take place : For him first to make a law, 
threatening eternal death to the least sin, makes him appear in- 
finitely just and "holy ; but then to have no regard to that law 
in his conduct, but go right contrary to it, without any salvo to 
his honor, is quite inconsistent, and directly tends to bring him- 
self, his law and authority, into the greatest contempt. Some- 
thing, I say, therefore, must be done, to make his hatred of the 
sin of mankind, and disposition to punish it, as manifest as if he 
had damned the whole world ; to the end that the honor of his 
holiness and justice.... of his law and government, and sacred 
authority, might be effectually secured. To act contrary to 
his own nature, was impossible.... to have no regard to the hon«< 
or of his law and government, was unreasonable — a guilty world 
had better all have been damned. 

Thus, from the perfections of God, and from the nature of 
the thing, we see the necessity there was that satisfaction should 
be made for sin, in order to open an honorable way in which 
divine mercy might come out after a rebellious, guilty, hell-de- 
serving world. 

To conclude this head, the necessity of satisfaction for sin 
seems also to be held forth in the scriptures, and to be implied 






DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 313 

in God's conduct in this affair. In the Old Testament, the ne- 
cessity of an atonement for sin was taught in types and figures. 
The man that sinned was to bring his offering before the Lord, 
and lay his hands upon it, and confess his sin over it — and so, 
as it were, transfer his sin and guilt to it ; then was it to be 
slain, (for death is the wages of sin) and burnt upon the altar, 
(for the sinner deserves to be consumed in the fire of God's 
wrath), and the blood thereof was to be sprinkled round about, 
(for without shedding of blood there is no remission) — nor was 
there any other way of obtaining pardon prescribed but this, 
which naturally taught the necessity of satisfaction for sin, and 
led the pious Jews to some general notion of the great atone- 
ment which God would provide, and to a cordial reliance there- 
on for acceptance in the sight of God # ...Zro. iv, and xvi — Heb. 
ix. But, in the New Testament, the nature and necessity of 
satisfaction for sin, and the impossibility of finding acceptance 
with God, unless through the atonement of Christ, is taught in 
language very plain and express ; particularly in the third chap- 
ter of the epistle to the Romans. St. Paul having proved both 
Jexvs and Greeks to be tender sin, and all the world to be guilty 
before God, and that every mouth must be stopped, in the first and 
second chapters, and in the beginning of the third, does, in the 
next place, enter upon, and begin to explain the way of salva- 
tion, by free grace, through Jesus Christ : — u We cannot," gays 
he, u be justified by the deeds of the law, (Chap. iii. 20), but 
" it must be freely by grace through the redemption that is in 
u Jesus Christ, (yer. 24) : But if we are not justified by the 
41 deeds of the law.. ..by our own obedience, how will God, our 
M Judge, appear to be righteous ? If the law condemns us, and 
" yet he justifies us, i. e. if he thus proceeds contrary to law, to 
" clear and approve when that condemns, how will he appear 
" to be a just and upright Governor and Judge, who, loving 
" righteousness and hating iniquity, is disposed always to ren- 
u der to every one his due ?....Why, there is a way contrived, 
u wherein the righteousness of God is manifested in our justi- 
" fication without the law's being obeyed by us. ...a way unto 



314 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

" which the types of the law and predictions of the prophets 



" did all bear witness. ...a way in which the righteousness of 
God is manifested in and by Christ, (yer* 21, 22) : But how ? 
Why j God hath set him forth to be a propitiation, to declare 
his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through 
the forbearance of God— -to declare, I say, at this time, his right- 
eousness, that he might be just, and the justifer of lum 
" -which believeth in Jesus" The apostle seems evidently to 
suppose that God could not have been just, had he not thus de- 
clared his righteousness ; and that he actually took this meth- 
od to declare and manifest his righteousness, to the end he might 
be just... .might act agreeably to his nature, the original stand- 
ard of justice, and to his law, which is the transcript of his na- 
ture, and the established rule of righteousness between him our 
Governor, and us his subjects. He set forth his Son to be a 
propitiation for the remission of sin, to declare his righteousness, 
that he might be just, and the justifer, &c* 

Besides, The necessity of satisfaction for sin, and that even 
by the death of Christ, seems to be implied in our Savior's pray- 
er in the garden, If it be possible, let this cup pass from me ; nev- 
ertheless, not as I will, but as thou x^/#....Mat. xxvi. 39 : And 
again, (ver. 4-2.) 0, my father, if this cup may not pass away from 
me, except I drink it, thy will be do?2e—As if Christ had said, 
" If it be possible thy designs of mercy might be put into execu- 
* 4 tion, and poor sinners saved, consistently with thine honor, 
" without my drinking this cup, O that it might be ; but if it 
" is not possible it should be so, I consent." Satisfaction for sin 
being necessary, and there being no easier way in which satis- 
faction for sin might be made, and a door opened for mercy to 
come to a guiltv world, consistently with the divine honor, seems 
to have been the very ground of the Father's willing him, and 
of Christ's consenting to drink that cup : And, indeed, is it 
possible to conceive why Christ should be willing to suffer 
what he did, or why his Father should desire it, were it not an 
expedient absolutely necessary, and nothing else would do, so 
that it must be ; or not one of the race of Adam be ever saved, 



DISTINGUISHED PROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 315 

consistently with the divine honor ? If it was not so absolute- 
ly necessary — -if there was some cheaper and easier way that 
would have done, why did the Father will this ? or how had 
Christ a sufficient call to undertake it ? or, indeed, what need 
was there tor him to undertake i or what good would it do ? 
If sin was not, in very deed, so bad a thing that it could not be 
pardoned without such a satisfaction, why was such a satisfac- 
tion fa&sted upon ;....whya greater satisfaction than was need- 
ful : Could a holy and wise God set so light by the blood of 
his dear Son, as to desire it to be shed without the most urgent 
necessity r Or why should the Governor of the world make 
more ado than was necessary, and then magnify his love in giv- 
ing his Son, when mankind might have been saved without it ? 
Did this become the great Governor of the world I or would 
God have us look upon his conduct in such a light ?... Surely no : 
Verily, therefore, such was the case of a rebellious, guilty world, 
that God looked upon them too bad to be released, consistent- 
lv with the divine honor, from the threatened destruction, un- 
less such a mediator should interpose, and such a satisfaction 
for sin be made ; and therefore Christ acquiesced in his will, as 
being wise, holy, just, and good. And this being supposed, 
the love of God, in giving his Son, appears even such as it is 
represented to be — unparalleled, unspeakable, inconceivable ; 
so, also, does the love of Christ in undertaking : And thus, 
from the perfections of God, and from the scriptures, and from 
God's conduct in this affair, it appears that a full satisfaction for 
sin was necessary, in order to its being pardoned, or any favor 
shown to a guilty world, consistently with the divine honor. 

And if we, in very deed, did stand in such need, such an ab- 
solute, perishing need of a mediator, as this comes to — if God 
;ed upon things in such a light, then must we see this our 
need of a mec and look upon things in this light too, and 

have a sen^e of this great truth upon our hearts : for, other- 
wise, we neither truly understand what a state we are in, nor 
what need we have of a mediator. And if we do not truly un- 
derstand what a state we are in, nor our need of the mediator 



316 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

God has provided, how can we be in a disposition to receive 
him as he is offered in the gospel, and truly and understand- 
ingly to rely upon him, his death and sufferings*. ..his worth 
and merits. ...his mediation and intercession, as the gospel in- 
vites us to do ? 

To see our need of Christ to be our atonement.. ..to see our 
need of his propitiatory sacrifice to open the way for the Gov- 
ernor of the world to be reconciled to us consistently with his 
honor, is a very different thing from what many imagine. Some 
fancy they want Christ to purchase an abatement of the law, and 
satisfy for their imperfections ; and then they hope to procure 
the divine favor by their own goodness. Some trust in Christ 
and the free grace of God through him, as they think, and yet, 
at the same time, look upon God as obliged, in justice, to save 
them, if they do as well as they can. Some, who lay not so 
high a claim to the divine favor, yet, by their tears and prayers, 
hope to move the compassions of God, and, by their fair prom- 
ises, to engage his favor, and would secretly think it hard, if, af- 
ter all, God should cast them err ; and yet they pretend to see 
their need of Christ, and to trust in him : But these are all ev- 
idently so far from seeing their need of Christ, that, in the tem- 
per and exercises of their hearts, they implicitly and practically 
deny any need of him at all ; to their own sense, they are good 
enough to be accepted in the sight of God, upon their own ac- 
count.... Rom. x. 3. Others, who have had great awakenings 
and convictions, and see much of their own badness, and do, 
in a sort, renounce their own righteousness.. ..they look to be 
saved by free grace ; but, in all the exercises of their hearts, see 
no need of a mediator, and have nothing to do with him : they 
see no reason why they may not be pitied and saved by free 
grace, without any respect to the atonement of Christ : They 
do not understand that they are so bad that it would be a re- 
proach to the Governor of the world to show them mercy, oth- 
erwise than through a mediator. Others, again, who talk much 
of Christ, and of faith, and of living by faith, and cry down 
works, and think themselves most evangelical, yet, after all, on- 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. S18 

hj believe that Christ died for them in particular, and that they 
shall be saved : this is their faith, and this their trusting in 
Christ ; whereby it is evident, they never truly saw their need 
of Christ, nor have they any respect to hirn under the proper 
character of a Mediator : But then do persons see their need 
of Christ, when, from a sense of what they are, and of what 
God is, they are convinced that they are too bad to be pardoned 
and accepted— so bad that any thing short of damnation is too 
good for them ; so that it would be inconsistent with the di- 
vine perfections, and to the reproach of the great Governor of 
the world, to show them any favor without some sufficient sal- 
vo to his honor : Now they see their need of Christ, and are 
prepared to exercise faith in his blood, (to use the apostle's 
phrase. ..Rorr:. iii. 23,) and not till now: for men cannot be 
said to see their need of Christ and his atonement, unless the}* 
see that in their case which renders his atonement needful ; 
but its being inconsistent with the divine perfections, and to 
the dishonor of God, to pardon sin without satisfaction, was 
that which made an atonement needful: Therefore sin- 
ners must see their case to be such as that it would be inconsis- 
tent with the divine perfections, and to the dishonor of 
God, to grant them pardon without satisfaction for their sins, 
in order to see their need of Christ and of his atonement. 
When they see their case to be such, then they begin to see 
tilings as they are — to view diem in the same light that God does 
— to perceive upon what grounds, and for what reasons, a me- 
diator was necessary, and why and upon what accounts they 
want one ; and hereby a foundation is laid for them, under- 
standingly, to have a fidutial recourse to that Mediator which 
God has provided, that, through him, consistently with the di- 
vine perfections, they may be received to favor : and so, from 
Christ, the Mediator, and from the free grace of God through 
him, do they take all their encouragement to come to God, in 
hopes of pardon and acceptance, and eternal life : Asd thus they 
iook to be justified by free grace through the redemption that is 
in fesus Christ, which is what the gospel intends and proposes 



318 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

....Rom* iii. 24 : And from an increasing sense of their unwor- 
thiness and ill deserts, they, through the course of their lives, 
more and more, grow up into a disposition to live the life they 
live in the flesh, by faith in the Son of God, always haying res- 
pect to him as their great high-priest, in all their approaches to 
the mercy-seat, having access to God by him, who has styled him- 
self the door of the sheep, and the -way to the Father, which is 
the very thing the gospel proposes, and invites and encourages 
us unto. Heb. ix. 12. ...By his own blood he entered into the ho- 
ly place, having obtained eternal redemption for us : Ver. 24.... 
Into heaven itself to appear in the presence of God for us : Heb. 
x. 19— 22.. ..Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the 
holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he 
hath consecrated for us — and having an high-priest over the house 
of God, let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of 
faith. Rom, iii. 25. ...For him hath God set forth to be a pro- 
pitiation for sin, to declare his righteousness , that he might be 
just, &c. 

And a clear, realizing sense of these things on our hearts will 
lay a foundation for us to see how the gospel-way of salvation 
is calculated to bring much glory to God, and abase sinners in 
the very dust, which is that wherein the glory of the gospel very 
much consists,. ..Rom. iii. 27 — sEph. i. 3—12. And we shall 
learn to rejoice to see God alone exalted, and freely to take our 
proper place, and lie down in the dust, abased before the Lord 
forever : And indeed it is perfectly fit, in this case, that the rebel- 
wretch should come down, and be so far from finding fault with 
the great Governor of the world, and with his holy, just, and 
good law, that he should rejoice that God has taken such an ef- 
fectual method to secure his own honor, and the honor of his 
law. We ought to be glad with all our hearts that the supreme 
Governor of the world did put on state, and stand for his hon- 
or, and the honor of his law, without the least abatement ; and 
did insist upon it that sin should be punished... .the sinner hum- 
bled, and grace glorified ; — these were things of the greatest im- 
portance : and we ought to choose to be saved in such a way. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 319 

to have God honored, and ourselves humbled : And it is evi- 
dent this must be the temper of every one that comes into a 
genuine compliance with the gospel : Thus much concerning 
the necessity of satisfaction for sin. But here, now, some 
may be ready to enquire, 

Was it not as necessary that the precepts of the law should be 
obeyed, as that the penalty should be suffered, to make way for 
the sinner not only to be pardoned, but also to be received to a state 
of favor, and entitled to eternal life ? — To which I answer, 

1. It is true, we need not only a pardon from the hands of 
God, the supreme Governor of the world, in whose sight, and 
against whom we have sinned ; — we need, I say, not only to be 
pardoned.. ..delivered from condemnation... .freed from the 
curse of the law.... saved from hell; but we want something 
further: We want to be renewed to God's image.. ..taken into 
his family.... put among his children, and made partakers of his 
everlasting favor and love : We need not only to be delivered 
from all those evils which are come upon us, and which we are 
exposed unto, through our apostacy from God ; but we want 
to be restored to the enjoyment of all that good which we should 
have had, had we kept the covenant of our God. 

2. It is true, also, that mankind, according to the tenor of the 
first covenant, were not to have been confirmed in a state of 
holiness and happiness — were not to have had eternal life, mere- 
ly upon the condition of being innocent, (for such w T as Adam 
by creation), but perfect obedience to every precept of the di- 
vine law was required.. ..Rom. x. 5 — Gal. iii. 10. The perform- 
ance of such an obedience, was that righteousness which was, 
by covenant, to entitle him to life. 

3. Since the fall, all mankind are destitute of that righteous- 
ness — nor can they attain unto it., ..Rom. iii. 9 — 20. 

4. But our natural obligations to love God with all our hearts, 

and obey him in every thing, still remain : for they are, in 

their own nature, unalterable : They will be forever the same, 

so long as God remains what he is, and we are his creatures. 

There was the same reason, therefore, after the fall, why we 

S * 



320 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

should love and obey God, as ever there was : There was the 
same reason, therefore, that the condition of the first covenant 
should be fulfilled, as ever there was : It was reasonable, ori- 
ginally, or God would never have insisted upon it : and there- 
fore it is reasonable now, since our apostacy ; and God has the 
same grounds to insist upon it forever : but we cannot perform 
it ourselves ; it was necessary, therefore, that it should be per- 
formed by Christ, our surety. But perhaps some may still say, 
When Christ had fully satisfied for all our sins^ and so opened 
a way for believers to be considered as entirely free from any 
guilt, why miglU not the Governor of the world now, of his sove- 
reign goodness and bounty, have bestowed eternal life, without 
&ny more to do ? What need was there for Christ to fulfil all 
riglUeousness in our room ? — To which I answer — 

When Adam was newly created, he was innocent... free from 
any guilt ; and why might not the supreme Governor of the 
w T oi4d, now, without any more to do, have bestowed upon him 
eternal life and blessedness, of his mere sovereign goodness ? 
What need was there that his everlasting welfare should be 
entirely suspended upen the uncertain condition of his good 
behavior ? Had not God just seen how it turned out with the 
angels that sinned ? Did he not know that Adam was liable to 
sin and undo himself too ? And why would he run any venture 
a second time ; especially, since the happiness, not only of 
Adam, but of all his race, a whole world of beings, now lay at 
stake ? If he thinks that if but one man should gain the whole 
world, and lose his own soul, his loss would be infinitely great, 
what must the everlasting welfare of a whole race be worth in 
his account ? And would infinite wisdom and infinite goodness 
venture and hazard all this, needlessly ? Yea, would such a Be- 
ing have done so, had there not been reasons of infinite weight 
to move him to it — something of greater importance than the 
eternal welfare of all mankind ? No doubt there was something, 
and something of very great importance, that influenced the 
infinitely wise and good Governor of the world to such a con- 
duct — something so very great, as to reader his condact, m 



DISTINGUISHED TR03I ALL COUNTERFEITS. 321 

that affair, perfectly holy and wise.. ..perfectly beautiful, excel- 
lent, and glorious. It does not look like & mere arbitrary con- 
stitution* It was doubtless ordered so, because God saw it 
was perfectly fit, and right, and best. But why was it fit, and 
right, and best ? Whatever the reason was, doubtless, for the 
same reason, it was fit, and right, and best, that the second Adam 
should perform the same condition.. ..fulfil all righteousness, to 
the end that, by his obedience, we might be made righteous, 
and so be entitled to life in this way. 

It is certain that eternal life and blessedness were not to have 
been given absolutely, i. e. without any condition at all, under 
the first covenant. Eternal life was not to have been granted 
merely under the notion of a gift, from a sovereign benefactor ; 
but also under the notion of a reward, from the hands of the 
moral Governor of the world. Perfect obedience was the con- 
dition : Do and live.,.. "Rom. x. 5 : Disobey and die.. f .Gz\. iii. 
10. This was established by the law of the God of Heaven. 

Now, the supreme Governor of the world did this for 
some end, or for no end: — not for no end ; for that would 
reflect upon his wisdom. Was it for his own good, or his crea- 
tures' good ?-*—Not for his own good ; for he is self-sufficient 
and independent :-<— not for his creatures' good ; for it had been 
better for them, their interest simply considered, to have had 
eternal life and blessedness given absolutely and unconditional- 
ly : for then they would have been at no uncertainties.. ..not li- 
able to fall into sin or misery, but secure and safe forever. It 
remains, therefore, that, as moral Governor of the world, he 
had an eye to the moral fitness of things, and so ordained, be- 
cause, in itself, in its own nature, it was fit and right. 

But why was it fit and right ? i. e. What grounds and reasons 
were there, in the nature of the case, why the great Governor 
of the world should suspend the everlasting welfare of his crea- 
ture, man, upon condition of his being in most perfect subjec- 
tion to himself ? i. e. Why should he so much stand upon his 
owp honor, as to insist upon this homage, at the hazard of his 
creatures' everlasting welfare : i. e. Why did he look upon his 



322 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

own honor as a matter of so great importance ? — I answer, that, 
from the rectitude of the divine nature, he is perfectly impar- 
tial in all his conduct. It was not, therefore, from any thing 
like pride, or a selfish spirit, that he stood thus upon his 
honor ; the homage of a worm of the dust could do him no 
good : — nor for want of goodness, that he set so light by his crea- 
tures' happiness ; but it was fit he should do as he did — the 
rectitude of his nature, as it were, obliged him to it: For it 
becomes the Governor of the world, and it belongs to his office 
as such, to see to it, that every one has his proper due ; and 
therefore it concerns him, first and above all things, to assert 
and maintain the rights of the God-head : and this honor was 
due to God. 

He was, by nature, God, and Adam was, by nature, man ; 
he was the Creator, and Adam was his creature ; he was mo- 
ral Governor of the world, and Adam was his subject ; he was, 
by right, Law-giver, and Adam was a free agent, capable of, 
and bound unto perfect obedience ; he was Judge, to whom it 
belonged to distribute rewards and punishments, and Adam 
was an accountable creature. Now he only considered him- 
self as being what he was, and his creature, man, as being what 
he was ; and he was affected and acted accordingly. He con- 
sidered what honor was due to him from man — what obliga- 
tions man was under to give him his due — that he was capable 
of doing it voluntarily — that it was fit he should — that it be- 
came the Governor of the world to insist upon it — that if he 
did not do it with all his heart, he could not be considered as 
a subject fit for the divine favor, but fit only for divine wrath. 
He thus viewed things as they were, and acted accordingly : 
What he did, therefore, was perfectly right and fit. To have 
had no regard to his honor, but only to have consulted his crea- 
tures' welfare, would have been a conduct like theirs in Rom. 
i. 21, 25... .They glorified him not as God : — They worshipped 
and served the creature, more than the Creator.* 

* How Gccl's putting Adam into a state of trial was consistent with his 
aiming merely at his happiness as his last end, I cannot understand : Sui 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 323 

Now, since the second Adam becomes surety, and stands res- 
ponsible to the Governor of the world, it was fit he should not 
only suffer the penalty of the broken law, but obey its precepts 
too, in order to open a door for us not only to be pardoned, but 
also received to favor, and entitled to eternal life. There was 
the same reason the second Adam should do it, as that the first 
should.... The honor of God did as much require it : It was as 
needful in order to our being considered as subjects fit for the 
divine favor and eternal life : It became the Governor of the 
world as much to stand for his honor with one as with the oth- 
er ; and he had as good reason to suspend the everlasting wel- 
fare of mankind upon this condition now, as ever : and to have 
shown no concern for the divine honor, although God had been 
openly affronted and despised by man's apostacy, but only to 
have regarded and consulted the welfare of the rebel under 
righteous condemnation, had been a conduct evidently unbe- 
coming the great Governor of the world. 

But again, we may view the case in anotherpoint of light : — 
According to the first covenant, eternal life and blessedness 
were not to have been granted merely under the notioivof a^//>, 
from a sovereign Benefactor ; but also under the notion of a re- 
wardirom God, as moral Governor of the world — and perfect 
obedience was the condition. Do and live : — And while eter- 
nal life and blessednesss were thus promised, by way 01 rczvard 

I am, it must have been better, unspeakably better, for Adam, his interest 
only considered, to have been immediately confirmed in a state of perfect 
holiness and happiness, without running such an awful venture of eternal 
ruin and destruction : Nor is there any man on earth that would choose, 
merely out of regard to his own welfare, to be put into a state of trial, 
rather than into a state of confirmed holiness and happiness, such as the 
saints in heaven are now in : and, therefore, I cannot but think that God 
had a greater regard to something else, than to Adam's, happiness. In 
this instance, it seems plain, from fact, that God does not make his crea- 
tures' happiness his last end. It is in vain to plead, " that Adam could 
" not be a moral agent, unless he was a free agent — nor zfree agent without 
" being liable to sin;" for the saints in heaven arc moral agents, and free 
agents too, and yet are not liable to sin : Audit God's putting his nvanuvs 
into a state of trial is not consistent with his aiming mer<-K at their hap- 
piness as h ; s last end, then the whole tenor of G Oil's moral government is 
rot consistent therewith: for, from firsl to last, it has been his wa; to 
put his creatures into a state of trial ; even all his creatures who were ca- 
pable of moral government. 



324 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

» 

to virtue, God's infinite love thereto was hereby testified, and 
the temper of his heart acted out and displayed. But God in- 
finitely loves to act like himself : — On this consideration, there- 
fore, it was necessary that the second Adam should fulfil all 
righteousness, in the room of a guilty, unholy world, to the end 
that the Governor of the world might bestow grace, and glory, 
and all good things upon sinners, as a reward to Christ's virtue, 
and so hereby testify his infinite love to virtue : And so still act 
like himself. It was God's sovereign pleasure to exercise his 
infinite goodness towards a ruined race, and his holy nature 
prompted him to choose this way ; for he always takes infinite 
delight in showing regard and respect to virtue, in his moral 
government of the world, He translated Enoch and Elijah. ».. 
saved Noah from the general deluge,.. .delivered Lot out of 
Sodom... .promised Abraham a posterity numerous as the stars 
of heaven, and Phineas an everlasting priesdiood... .and a thous- 
and things more has he done — and all to bear a public testimo- 
ny of his love to virtue ; — -this is the thing which the King de- 
lights to honor. The very ground of his love to himself, is the 
virtue or holiness of his nature : — In this, his divine beauty and 
glory primarily consists.... Is aia h vi. 3. He loves, therefore, 
to put houor upon the image of himself ; and, in doing so, he 
still reflects honor upon himself, the original fountain of moral 
excellence : and, therefore, according to the first covenant, and 
according to the second, it was equally fit that eternal life and 
blessedness should be given as a reward to virtue 9 in testimony 
of his regard thereto. 

Thus, from the perfections of God, and the reason and na- 
ture of things, the necessity of Christ's obeying the preceptive 
part of the law, as well as suffering the penalty, in order to our 
being not only pardoned, but received to the everlasting favor 
of God, and entitled to eternal life, seems evident. 

But, from scripture, the point may more easily be confirmed : 
For therein we are taught that he was appointed, by the Gov- 
ernor of the world, not only to make reconciliation for iniquity, 
but also to bring in everlasting righteousness. ...Dan. ix. 24 — 



DISTIN :ZD FROM ALL COUHTEEJ'EITS. 325 

And are assured that he is become f& end of the taw for right- 

them that believe... Rom. x- 4 — x\nd that, 2 ;:;e- 

dience, many are made righteous. ..^Rom. v. 19. But this work 
!d rfot have been put upon him, had it been needles* ; i. e. 
if God's honor and our salvation could both have been secured 
without it; for then it had been in vain : — which to suppose, re- 
flects much upon the divine wisdom, and quite undermines and 
null: B love, and grace, and kindness of God herein to us; 

for we had been as well without it. With much evidence, there- 
fore, may we conclude that it was necessary that the second AA* 
I our surety, should obey as well as suffer in our room, 
.: to open a door for our justification ami eternal life : 
And, accc. be favors shown to a 

:1. on Christ's account, are, in scripture, prom- 
1 under the notion of a reward to Ckrist?svirtue ; for, upon 
VBaking l Sf° r i;;7 > w ^* cn was l ^ e highest act of 

ras* promised that he s :ed....p his 

day leasure : j the, I : ering in his hands — 

that he should see the trava:, fy many.... 

lO, 11, 12. 
Therefore, in order to a genuine compliance with the gos- 
b in Jesus Christ, we must see how far we are from 
rig m* — that all our seeming righteousness is as fill 

rags — that we have nothing to recommend us to God — that 
there is nothing in us rendering US fit to be beloved by him, cr 
meet to receive any favor at his hands, but even- thing to the 
contrarv, to the end we may see our need of Christ,. ..of Christ, 
to be made ttnic us, rig :ess, (I. Cor. i. 30) and 

our being in him, having en his right- 

far this is the design of the go^ 
to bring us to look tc I God only in his ' bt ', 

(Eph i. 6 — I. Peter iL 5) ; and to be just if ed freely by 

is in J , (Rom. 

24) :: r. 28); ourselves be- 

g, in oi .../Chap. iv. 

Vc 



326 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

And under a sense how far we are from righteousness.... that 
we have, after all the attainments of this life, no righteousness 
fit to be mentioned before God.... nothing fit to recommend us 
to his favor, but are sxill, in ourselves, infinitely unworthy of his 
love, or the least favor from him ; — I say, under a deep, effec- 
tual sense of this, we must live all our days, to the end that we 
may never venture to come before God, as the Pharisee did, 
emboldened by our own goodness, but always as the chief of 
sinners, desiring to be found only in Christy not having on our 
won righteousness, but the righteousness which is of God by faith ; 
and so hereby be influenced to live the life we live in the fleshy 
by faith on the Son of God, as St. Paul always did, and as the gos- 
pel would have all others do.... I. Tim. i. 15 — Phil. iii. 9 — Gal. 
ii. 20, and iii. 11. 

To conclude — Thus, we see the grounds of the necessity 
there was for a mediator and redeemer, to make satisfaction for 
sin, and bring in everlasting righteousness ; and so open an 
honorable way for mercy to come out after a rebellious, guilty 
world — and a way in which sinners may, with safety, return 
to God. 

SECTION IV. 

CONCERNING THE SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST, AND OF HIS SAT- 
ISFACTION AND MERITS. 

I proceed now to consider, 

2. What has been done to make satisfaction for sin, and to an- 
swer the demands of 'the preceptive part of 'the law ; and where- 
in the sufficiency of the same consists. And, 

In the first place, what has been done has been already hint- 
ed ; and it may be summed up in a few words : It compre- 
hends all that Christ has done and suffered, in his life and at hi3 
death : For us he was born — for us he lived — for us he died : 
He did all on our account, being thereunto appointed by his Fa- 
ther. But because his obedience and sufferings were most emi- 
nent and remarkable, when, according to the command he had 
received of his Father, he laid down his life for us, and offered 
himself a sacrifice for our sins ; and because, with a view to 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEIT?. 327 

this, he became flesh, and dwelt among us, therefore the scrip- 
tures do more frequently attribute our redemption to what was 
done then. Hence, we are said to be redeemed by his blood,.... 
I. Peter i. 18, 19 — To be justified by his blood.. ..Rom. v. 9 : 
And all spiritual blessings are frequently represented as the 
fruits and effects of his death.... Ga\. iii. 13, 14. The sacrifices 
of the Old Testament pointed out this as the great atonement : 
And to this the penmen of the New Testament seem, in a spe- 
cial manner, to have their eyes, as the great propitiation for sin. 
Thus the first Adam was to have yielded a perfect obedience 
to the divine law in every thing ; but that special prohibition, 
touching the tree of knowledge of good and evil, was in a pe- 
culiar manner to try him, that it might be seen whether he would 
be in subjection to God in every thing : So, in the garden and 
upon the cross, our Savior's spirit of obedience was tried and 
discovered, and his obedience was perfected and his sufferings 
completed ; and so here, in a more eminent manner, the law 
was honored, and justice satisfied — and so the door of mercy 
opened for a sinful, guilty world. But, 

Secondly. As to the sufficiency of what has been done to 
answer the ends proposed, let these things be considered : 

(1.) That the person undertaking, as mediator and redeem- 
er, was of sufficient dignity and worth. 

(2.) That he was sufficiently authorized to act in such a 
capacity. 

(3.) That what he has done is perfectly suited, in its own 
nature, to answer all the ends proposed. 

(1.) Jesus Christ, the mediator between God and man, as to 
his person, was fit for the mediatorial office and work. He 
was of sufficient dignity and worth — being, by nature, God.... 
equal with the Father. ...the brightness cfhisglonj....the express 
image of his person. ...Phil. ii. — Heb. i. He was God, (John i. 
1,) as well as man, (ver. 14) — And therefore his blood was con- 
sidered and valued as being the blood of God, (Acts xx. 28) — 
And hence it is called precious blood, (I. Peter i. 18, 19.) As 

to his person, he was equal with God the Father in point of 

T t 



528 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

worth and dignity : and it was as much for him to obey and 
die in the room of a guilty world, as it would have been for God 
the Father himself. In point of dignity and worth, there was 
none superior to him : He was upon a level with God the Fath- 
er : He was his equal and fellow. Zech. xiii. 7....Axvake, 
szvord, against the man that is my eellow : He was as glori- 
ous. ...as honorable. ...as lovely : He was, therefore, fit for the 
office*... able to answer all the ends of God, the Governor of the 
world — of his holiness and justice, law and government, and 
perfectly to secure the divine honor, viewed in every point of 
light. The infinite dignity of his nature, as God, made him ca- 
pable of an obedience of infinite moral excellence, and capable 
of making a full satisfaction for the infinite evil of sin : He could 
magnify the law, and make it honorable in a more illustrious 
manner than all the angels in heaven and men on earth put to- 
gether ; by how much he was more excellent than they all. If 
the Son of God obey and die, it is enough : God and his law 
are forever secure. Thus, his being, by nature, God, render- 
ed him of sufficient dignity for the office and work of a media- 
tor.... Heb,ix. 14. 

And this it was, also, which made him capable of underta- 
king : As he was God, he was under no obligations, on his own 
account, to obey a law made for a creature — and he had an ab- 
solute right to himself. Every person, that is a mere creature, 
is under natural obligations to perfect obedience on his own ac- 
count — nor is he his own to dispose of : But the Son of God 
was above a mere creature ; — he was a divine person, and, pre- 
vious to his undertaking, was under no obligation to obedience ; 
— he had an original right to himself, and was not, by nature, 
under the law ; he was, therefore, at his own disposal, and at 
full liberty to undertake in our room : He had power to assume 
human nature, and be made under the law for us, and obey for 
us, and suffer for us ; for he might do what he would with his 
own. ...John x. 17, 18. The sufficiency of Christ being thus 
originally founded in his divinity — hence, this is the first thing 
the apostle to the Hebrews insists upon, in order to explain, 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 329 

clear up, and confirm the safety of the way of salvation through 
his blood.... Heb. i. To clear up and confirm the safety of the 
way of salvation, through the blood of Christ, is evidently the 
scope and design of that epistle, as is manifest from the ten first 
Chapters ; — particularly see Chapter x. ver. 19 — 22. And in 
order to show the safety of this way, he insists upon the excel- 
lency of his person, and the nature of his office. ...his being call- 
ed, appointed, and authorized, and his actually going through 
the work of our redemption— which, together with some occa- 
sional exhortations, digressions, &c. is the substance of his dis- 
course, from Chap. i. vtr. 1, to Chap. x. ver. 23. 

Thus, as God, he was of infinite dignity and worth — as God, 
he was at liberty to undertake. He had an estate (if I may 
so speak) of his own, and could pay the debt of another with 
what was his own, and purchase for us an inheritance : And I 
may add, that, as he was the Son of God, the second person in 
the trinity, there was a suitableness that he, rather than either 
of the other persons, should be appointed to this work. The 
Father sustains the character of supreme Lord and Governor.... 
asserts the rights of the God-head. ...maintains the honor of his 
law and government : The Son becomes mediator between 
God and man, to open a door for God to show mercy to man 
consistently with his honor, and for man to return to God with 
safety : The Holy Spirit is the sanctifier, to work in sinners to 
will and to do, and recover and bring them to repent and return 
to God, through Jesus Christ : Thus the gospel teaches us to 
believe.... Eph. ii. 18. 

He also was made fesh, and dwelt among us, and, for our sakes, 
was made under the lazv, to the end that, in our nature, he might 
fulfil all righteousness, and bear the curse : As he was one with 
the Father, he was fit to be betrusted with his Fatherh honor : 
As he was Lnmanuel, God with us, he was fit to be betrusted 
with our salvation : As he was Gcd-man, he was fit to bt ^me- 
diator between God and man. His humanity rendered him ca- 
pable to appear in the form of a servant, and to become obedient 
unto death : and his divinity rendered his obedience and suffer- 



330 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

ings sufficient to answer the ends designed. This is he of whom 
the text speaks, God so loved the worlds that he gave his only be- 
gotten Son : He gave him.. ..he appointed him to the work.... 
he put him into the office... he anointed him, and then he laid on 
him the iniquities of us all, and set him forth to be a propitiation : 
Which brings me to consider, 

(2.) That he was sufficiently authorized to be a mediator be- 
tnveen God and man.. ..to take the place of sinners, and to obey 
and die in the room of a guilty world. God, the supreme Gov- 
ernor of the world, had sufficient power and authority to ap- 
point the first Adam to be a representative for his posterity, to 
act in their room ; and, by the same authority, he has appoint- 
ed his Son, the second Adam, to be a second public head..... 
Rom. v. 12 — 19. By divine constitution, the first Adam was 
made a public person ; and, by divine constitution, the second 
Adam is made such too : both receive all their authority to act 
in that capacity from the constitution of God. The calling, ap- 
pointment, and authority of Christ, to take upon him this of- 
fice and work of a mediator and high priest, is particularly treat- 
ed of in the fifth Chapter to the Hebrews : He was called of God, 
as was Aaron, (ver. 4) : He took not this high office upon him- 
self, but was invested with it by his Father, (ver. 5) : He was 
called of God an high priest, after the order ofMelchisedec, (ver. 
10) : His Father proposed the office and the work, and he wil- 
lingly undertook. Lo, I come to do thy will, God....Htb. x. 7- 

God so loved the xvorld, that he gave his only begotten Son 

John iii. 16 : And hence Christ says, He did not come of him- 
self, but was sent of his Father.... John vii. 28, 29 : And that he 
did not come to do his own will, but the will of 'him that sent him.... 
John vi. 38. And his Father acknowledges him as such by a 
voice from heaven : Mat. xvii. 5. ...This is my beloved Son, in 
whom I am well pleased ; hear ye him. 

Without such a divine constitution, the death of Christ could 
have been of no benefit to mankind : As, if an innocent man 
should offer to die in the room of a condemned criminal, and 
should actually lay down his life, yet it could be of no benefit to 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 331 

the poor criminal, unless the civil government had authorized 
him so to do, i. e. unless, by some act, they had declared that 
his life should be accepted, in the eye of the law, instead of the 
criminal's. The application is easy : Thus Christ was called 
and put into his mediatorial office, and authorised to the work 
by God, the supreme Governor of the world : And hence, in 
si?n to the Jewish custom of anointing men, when advanced 
to some high office and important trust — (so Aaron was anoint- 
Spriest, and David was anointed king,) — in allusion, I sav, 
to this, he is called Christ, which is, by interpretation, the 
anointed : Thus, as to his personal dignity, he was sufficient 
to undertake — and thus was he authorized to do so. And, 

(3.) What he has done is perfectly suited, in its own nature, to 
the ends proposed : Thai is, to secure the honor of 
God.. ..the honor of his holiness, justice, and truth. ...his law, 
government, and sacred authority — and so open a door for the 
free and honorable exercise of his mercy and grace towards a 
sinful, ; world, and a way in which sinners might return to 

God with divine acceptance. God, the supreme Governor of 
the world, knew upon what grounds there was need of a medi- 
ator.... what ends he had to answer, and how they might be an- 
swered in the best manner. According to the counsel of his 
own will, in his infinite wisdom, he laid the very plan which is 
now revealed to us in the gospel : He appointed one to be a me- 
diator whom he judged fit.. ..put him into the office, and ap- 
pointed him his work ; — all this work Jesus Christ has done : 

He has finished the work which the Father gave him to do 

John xvii. 4, and xix. 30 — And so has been faithful to him that 
appointed Aim«...Heh. iii. 2: So that herefrom we might be as- 
sured, that what he has done is most perfectly suited, in its own 
nature, to answer all the ends proposed, although it were quite 
to understand how : But, by the help ox the word and 

.it of God, we may be able to enter a tittle way into this won- 
derful and glorious mystery. 

It was fit the first Adam, as the representative and public 
head of m: uld, as a condition of the t\ crls ve 



332 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 






and favor of God, have continued in a most willing and perfect 
subjection to God, the Governor of the world, valuing his hon- 
or and glory above all things ; — this was God 7 s due : This would 
have satisfied God's holiness ; for holiness is satisfied when the 
thing which is right and fit is done : — holiness wants no more, 
but is then content and well-pleased ; and, upon this condition, 
mankind might have been considered as subjects fit for the di- 
vine favor, and might have received the promised reward, to 
the honor of the divine holiness and goodness. Now Jesus 
Christ, the Son of God, has, by his Father's appointment and 
approbation, assumed our nature. ...taken Adam's place. ...done 
that which was Adam's duty in our room and stead, as another 
public head... .obeyed the law God gave his creature — a law 
which he was not under, but in consequence of his undertaking 
to stand in our room and stead. The creature fails of paying 
that honor to the Governor of the world which is his due from 
the creature : A God lays aside his glory... appears in the form 
of a servant, and becomes obedient ; and so, in the creature's 
stead and behalf, pays that honor to the Governor of the world 
which was the creature's duty : and thus the Governor of the 
world is considered, respected, treated, and honored, as being 
what he is, by man — i. e. by their representative Christ Jesus, 
God-man-mediator. And now, hereby, God's right to the obe- 
dience of his creatures, and their unworthiness of his favor up- 
on any other condition, are publicly owned and acknowledged : 
the debt is owned, and the debt is paid by the Son of God — and 
so holiness is satisfied ; for holiness is satisfied, when the thing 
that is right and fit is done : And now, this door being opened, 
mankind may, through Christ, be considered as subjects to 
whom God may show favor consistently with his honor : yea, 
the divine holiness may be honored by granting ail favors as a 
reward to Christ's virtue and obedience. 

Again, it w T as fit, if any intelligent creature should, at any 
time, swerve at all from the perfect will of God, that he should 
forever lose his favor, and fall under his everlasting displeasure, 
for a thing so infinitely wrong : And, in such a case, it was fit 



DISTINGUISHED EROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 333 

the Governor of the world should be infinitely displeased, and 
publicly testify his infinite displeasure, by a punishment ade- 
quate thereto, inflicted on the sinning creature. This would 
satisfy justice ; for justice is satisfied, when the thing which is 
wrong is punished according to its desert. Hence, it was fit, 
when, by a constitution holy, just, and good, Adam was made 
a public head, to represent his race, and act not only for him- 
self, but for all his posterity ; — it was fit, I say, that he and all 
his race, for his first transgression, should lose the favor, and 
fall under the everlasting displeasure, of the Almighty. It 
was fit that God should be infinitely displeased at so abomina- 
ble a thing — and that, as Governor of the world, he should 
publicly bear testimony against it, as an infinite evil, by inflict- 
ing the infinite punishment the law threatened, i. e. by damning 
the whole world. This would have satisfied justice : for jus- 
tice is satisfied when justice takes place — when the guilty are 
treated with that severity they ought to be — when sin is pun- 
ished as being what it is. Now, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, 
has, by his Father's appointment and approbation, assumed 
our nature.. ..taken the place of a guilty world — and had not on- 
ly Adam's first transgression, but the iniquities of us all laid 
upon him — and, in our room and stead, has suffered the wrath 
of God, the curse of the law, offering up himself a sacrifice to 
God for the sins of men : And hereby the infinite evil of sin, 
and the righteousness of the lav/, are publicly owned and ac- 
knowledged, and the deserved punishment voluntarily submit- 
ted unto by man, i. e. by their representative : And thus justice 
is satisfied ; for justice is satisfied when justice takes place : 
And sin is now treated as being what it is, as much as if God 
had damned the whole world ; and God, as Governor, appears 
as severe against it. And thus the righteousness of God is 
declared and manifested, by Christ's being set forth to be a pro- 
pitiation for sin ; and he may now be just, and yet justify him 
that believes in Jesus. 

By all this the law is magnified and made honorable. On the 
one hand, Were any in all God's dominions tempted to think 



334 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

that the great Governor of the world had dealt too severely 
with man, in suspending his everlasting welfare upon the con- 
dition of perfect obedience ? God practically answers, and says, 
" I did as well by mankind as I should desire to have been done 
" by myself, had I been in their case, and they in mine ; for 
44 when my Son, who is as myself, came to stand in their stead, 
44 I required the same condition of him :" And what the Fa- 
ther says, the Son confirms : he practically owns the law to be 
holy, just, and good, and the debt to be due, and pays it most 
willingly to the last mite, without any objection ; — which was 
as if he had said, " There was all the reason in the world that 
44 the everlasting welfare of mankind should be suspended on 
44 that condition ; nor could I have desired it to have been oth- 
44 erwise,had I myself been in their case." — On the other hand, 
Were any tempted to think that God had been too severe in 
threatening everlasting damnation for sin ? Here this point is al- 
so cleared up. God the Father practically says that he did as 
he would have been done by, had he been in their case, and they 
in his ; for when his Son, his second self, comes to stand in 
their place, he abates nothing, but appears as great an enemy 
to sin, in his conduct, as if he had damned the whole world : 
His Son also owns the sentence just : he takes the cup and 
drinks it off : Considering the infinite dignity of his person, his 
sufferings were equivalent to the eternal damnation of such 
worms as we. 

Thus the law is magnified and made honorable ; and, at the 
same time, the honor of God's government and sacred author- 
ity is secured : and, I may add, so is also the honor of his truth ; 
for he has been true to his threatening, In the day thou eat est 
thereof^ thou shah surely die : for on that very day the second Ad- 
a?n virtually laid down his life in the room and stead of a guilty 
world. He is the lamb slain from the foundation of the world ; 
So that now there is no room left, for those who will view things 
impartially, to have undue thoughts of the Governor of the world ; 
nor any thing done to expose his government to reproach, or 
his authority to contempt : The honor of the divine govern- 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 335 

ment and authority appears as sacred and tremendous as if he 
had damned the whole world ; and although sinners will take 
occasion to sin, and be encouraged in their ways, because grace 
abounds, vet the Governor of the world has not given the oc- 
casion. In his conduct, the whole of it considered, he ap- 
pears as severe against sin as if he had damned the whole world, 
without any mixture of the least mercy. The infinite dignity 
of his Son causes those sufferings he bore in our room to be 
as bright a display of the divine holiness and justice, as if all 
the human race had, for their sin, been cast into the lake of 
fire and brimstone, and the smoke of their torments ascended 
forever and ever. 

Moreover, by all this, a way is opened for the free and 
honorable exercise of mercy and grace towards a sinful, guilty 
world. It may be done consistently with the honor of God — 
of his holiness and justice. ...his law and government.. ..his 
truth and sacred authority : for the honor of all these is effec- 
tually secured : It may be done to the honor of divine grace : 
for now it appears that God did not pity the world under a 
notion that they had been by him severely and hardly dealt 
with, nor under a notion that it would have been too severe to 
have proceeded against them according to law. The law is 
not made void, but established. No reflections are cast upon 
the divine government: And grace appears to be free.... taking 
its rise, not from any thing in us, but merely from self-moving 
goodness, and sovereign mercy. This way of salvation is suit- 
ed to set off the grace of God to advantage, and make it appear 
to be what it is. 

Having thus finished the work assigned him, he arose from 
the dead. ...he ascended on high. ...he entered into the holy of 
holies, into heaven itself, to appear in the presence of God 
for us, as our great high priest....//^, ix : And here, as God- 
man-mediator, he is exalted to the highest honor.. ..has a name 
above every name. ...sits on the right hand of the Majesty on 
high, having all power in heaven and earth committed unto 

him, and ever lives to make intercession, and is able to save, 

U u 



336 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

to the uttermost, all that come to God through him. Such is 
the virtue of his righteousness and blood, and such is his honor 
and interest in the court of heaven, and such is his faithfulness 
to all that believe in him, that now it is perfectly safe to return 
to God through him, and venture our everlasting all upon his 
worth and merits, mediation and intercession. Heb.iv. 16.... 
Let us , therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace. 

Thus we see what necessity there was of satisfaction for sin, 
and that the demands of the law should be answered : And 
thus we see what has been done for these purposes, and its suf- 
ficienc}' to answer all the ends proposed. The Mediator was 
of sufficient dignity, as to his person.... he had sufficient author- 
ity, as to his office, and he has faithfully done his work. And 
now the honor of God's holiness and justice, law and govern- 
ment, and sacred authority, is secured ; and a way is opened 
in which he may honorably put his designs of mercy into exe- 
cution, and sinners safely return unto him. And now, before 
I proceed to consider more particularly what way is opened, 
and what methods God has entered upon for the recovery of 
sinful, guilty creatures to himself, I shall make a few remark* 
upon what has been said. 

Rem. 1. As the law is a transcript of the divine nature, sq 
also is the gospel. The law is holy, just, and good ; and is, as 
it were, the image of the holiness, justice, and goodness of 
God ; and so also is the gospel : The law insists upon God's 
honor from the creature, and ordains that his everlasting wel- 
fare shall be suspended upon that condition ; and the gospel 
says amen to it : The law insists upon it that it is an infinite 
evil for the creature to swerve in the least from the most per- 
fect will of God, and that it deserves an infinite punishment ; 
and the gospel says amen to it : The law discovered also the 
infinite goodness of God, in its being suited to make the obe- 
dient creature perfectly happy ; but the gospel still more abun- 
dantly displays the infinite goodness and wonderful free grace 
of God : The law was holy, just, and good, and the image of 
God's holiness, justice, and goodness ; but the gospel is more 






DISTINGUISHED PROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 53T 

eminently so :-^-In it the holiness, justice, and goodness of God 
are painted more to the life, in a manner truly surprising, and 
beyond our comprehension— yea, to the amazement of angels, 
who desire to look and pry into this wonderful contrivance.... 
L Pet. i. 12. 

Here, in this glass, the glory of the Lord is to be beheld.... 
II. Cor. iii. 18. The glory of God is to be seen in the fact :f 
Christ. ...II. Cor. iv. 6. What has been done by him in this 
affair, discovers the glorious moral beauty of the divine nature. 
Much of God is to be seen in the moral law.... it is his image : 
but more of God is to be seen in the gospel ; for herein his im- 
age is exhibited more to the life — more clearly and conspicu- 
ous! v. 

The moral excellence of the moral law sufficiently evidences 
that it is from God : it is so much like God, that it is evident 
that it is from God : So the moral excellence of the gospel suf- 
ficiently evidences that it is from God : it is so much like him, 
that it is evident that it is from him : It is his very image- 
therefore it is his offspring : it is a copy of his moral perfec- 
tions, and they are the original : It is so much like God, that 
it is perfectly to his mind ; — -he is pleased with it.. ..he delights 
to save sinners in this way ; and if ever this gospel becomes 
the power of God to our salvation, it will make us like unto 
God — it will transform us into his image, and we shall be plea- 
sed with this way of salvation, and delight to be saved in such 
a way ; a way wherein God is honored.. ..the sinner humbled.... 
the law established. ...sin discountenanced.. ..boasting excluded, 
and grace glorified. 

If any man has a taste for moral excellence. ...a heart to ac- 
count God glorious for being what he is, he cannot bat sec 
the moral excellence of the lav;, and love it, and conform 
to it ; because it is the image of God : and so he cannot but 
see the moral excellence of the gospel, and believe it, and 

r e it, and comply with it; for it is also the image of God. 
lie that can see the moral beauty of the original, cannot but sec 
the moral beauty of the image drawn to the life : lie, there- 



338 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

fore, that despises the gospel, and is an enemy to the law, 
even he is at enmity against God himself... .ifom. viii. 7. Ig- 
norance of the glory of God, and enmity against him, makes 
men ignorant of the glory of the law and of the gospel, and en- 
emies to both. Did men know and love him that begat, t/iey 
would love that which is begotten of him.... 1. John v. 1. He 
that is of God, heareth God's words ; ye, therefore, hear them 
not, because ye are not of God.. ..John viii. 47. 

And therefore a genuine compliance with the gospel sup- 
poses that he who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, 
shines in the heart, to give the light of the knoxvledge of the glo- 
ry of God in the face of Jesus Christ... .II. Cor. iv. 6 : And a 
sight and sense of the moral excellence of the gospel-way of 
salvation assures the heart of its divinity ; and hereby a super- 
natural and divine assent to the truth of the gospel is begotten 
in the heart. And a sense of the infinite dignity of the Medi- 
ator, and that he was sent of God, and that he has finished the 
work which was given him to do, and so opened and conse- 
crated a new and living way of access to God. ...together with 
a sense of the full and free invitation to sinners to return to 
God in this way, given in the gospel, and the free grace of God 
therein discovered, and his readiness to be reconciled ; — a spir- 
itual sight and sense of these things, I say, emboldens the heart 
of a humbled sinner to trust in Christ, and to return to God 
through him. Hence the apostle to the Hebrews, having gone 
through this subject in a doctrinal way, in the conclusion makes 
this practical inference : — Having, therefore, brethren, boldness 
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.. ..by anew and liv- 
ing way xvhich he hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that 
is to say, his flesh ; and having a high priest over the house of 
God, let its draw near with a true heart and full assurance of 
faith... .Heb. x. 19 — 22. 

Rem. 2. From what has been said, we may observe, that 
the necessity of satisfaction for sin, and of the preceptive part 
of the law being answered, takes its rise from the moral per- 
fections of the divine nature, and the moral fitness of things ; 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 339 

and therefore a true idea of God, and a just sense of the moral 
fitness of things, will naturally lead us to see the necessity of 
satisfaction for sin, &c. and predispose us to understand and 
believe what is held forth by divine revelation to that purpose. 
On the other hand, where a true idea of the moral perfections 
of God, and the moral fitness of things, is not — but, on the 
contrary, very wrong notions of the divine Being, and of the 
true nature of things, there w T ill naturally be an indisposition 
and an aversion to such principles ; nor will what the gospel 
teaches about them be readily understood or believed : And 
doubtless it was this which originally led some to deny the ne- 
cessity of satisfaction for sin, and others to go a step farther, 
to deny that Christ ever designed to make any, John viii. 47 
....He that is of God, heareth God's words ; ye, therefore, hear 
them not, because ye are not of God. 

Rem. 3. The death of Christ was not designed, at all, to 
take away the evil nature of sin, or its ill deserts ; for sin is un- 
alterably what it is, and cannot be made a less evil : But the 
death of Christ was rather, on the contrary, to acknowledge and 
manifest the evil nature and ill desert of sin, to the end that 
pardoning mercy might not make it seem to be a less evil than 
it really is : So that, although God may freely pardon all our 
sins, and entitle us to eternal life for Christ's sake, yet he does 
look upon us, considered merely as in ourselves, to be as much 
to blame as ever, and to deserve hell as much as ever ; and 
therefore we are always to look upon ourselves so too : And 
hence we ought always to live under a sense of the freeness 
and riches of God's grace in pardoning our sins, and under a 
sense of our own viieness and ill desert, in ourselves, upon the 
account of them, although pardoned — That thou maucst re- 
member andbe confounded, and never open thy mouth any more. 
because of thy shame, when I am pacified toxvard thee for all 
that thou hast done, saith the Lord 6W....Ezek. xvi. 63. But 
this is not the way of hypocrites : for, being once confident 
that their sins are pardoned, their shame, sorrow, and abase- 
ment are soon at an end : and having no fear of hell, they have 



340 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

but little sense of sin : and, from the doctrine of free grace, 
they are emboldened, as it were, to sin upon free cost. But 
thus saith the Lord, When I shall say to the righteous, that he 
shall surely live ; if he trust to his own righteousness, and com- 
mit iniquity, all his righteousness shall not be remembered ; but 
for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for z£....Ezek. 
xxxiii. 13. 

Rem. 4. Nor was the death of Christ designed to draw forth 
the pity of God towards a guilty world : for God could find 
it in his heart, of his mere goodness, without any motive from 
without, to give his only begotten Son to die for sinners : But 
this was greater goodness than it would have been to have sa- 
ved mankind by an act of sovereign grace, without any media- 
tor ; — it was a more expensive way : As, for an earthly sove- 
reign to give his only son to die for a traitor, that the traitor 
might live, would be a greater act of goodness than to pardon 
the traitor, of mere sovereignty. It was not, therefore, because 
the goodness of the divine nature needed any motive to draw 
it forth into exercise, that Jesus Christ obeyed, and died in our 
room ; but it was to answer the ends of moral government, 
and to secure the honor of the moral Governor ; and so open 
a way for the honorable exercise of the divine goodness, which, 
in its own nature, is infinite, free, and self-moving, and wants 
no motive from without to draw it forth into action : And the 
same, no doubt, may be said of Christ's intercession in heaven* 
We are, therefore, in our approaches to God, not to look to 
Christ to persuade the Father to pity and pardon us, as though 
he was not willing to show mercy of his own accord ; but we 
are to look to Christ, and go to God through him, for all we 
want, under a sense that we are, in ourselves, too bad to be 
pitied without some sufficient salvo to the divine honor, or to 
have any mercy shown us : And, therefore, when we look to be 
justified hy free grace,it must be only through the redemption that 
is in Jesus Christ ; who has been set forth to be a propitiation 
for sin,to declare God's righteousness, that he might be just, and the 
justifier of him thai believeth in Jesus.. ..Rom, iii. 24, 25, 25. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 341 

Rem. 5. Some of the peculiar principles of the Antifiomians 
seem to take their rise from wrong notions of the nature of sat- 
isfaction for sin. They seem to have no right notions of the 
moral perfections of God, and of the natural obligations we arc 
under to him, nor any right apprehensions of the nature and 
ends of moral government, nor any ideas of the grounds, nature, 
and ends of satisfaction for sin ; (a right sense of which things 
tends powerfully to promote a holy fear and reverential awe of 
the dread Majesty of heaven and earth. ...a sense of the infinite 
evil of sin...,brokenness of heart. ...tenderness of conscience.... 
a humble, holy, watchful, prayerful temper and life, as well as 
to prepare the way for faith in the blood of Christ.) But they 
seem to have no right apprehensions of these things : They 
seem to consider God merely under the notion of a creditor^ 
and us merely under the notion of debtors ; and to suppose, 
when Christ, upon the cross, said, It is finished \ he then paid 
the whole debt of the elect, and saw the book crossed, whereby- 
all their sins were actually blotted out and forgiven : and now, 
all that remains is for the holy spirit immediately to reveal it 
to one and another that he is elected — that for him Christ 
died, and that his sins are all pardoned ; which revelation he is 
firmly to believe, and never again to doubt of: and this they 
call faith. From which it seems they understand nothing 
rightly about God or Christ.. ..the law or gospel : for nothing is 
more evident than that God is, in scripture, considered as 
righteous Governor of the world, and we as criminals, guilty be- 
fore him ; and the evident design of Christ's death was, to be 
a. propitiation for sin, to declare and manifest God's righteous- 
ness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth 
in Jesus. ..Rom. iii. 9 — 26 : And the gospel knows nothing about 
a sinner's being justified in any other way than by faith, and by 
consequence, in order of nature, not till after faith. The gospel 
knows nothing about satisfaction for sin, in their sense ; but eve- 
ry where teaches that the elect, as well as others, are equally un* 
derco?idemnatio?i^ndthczurathofGod...yc7i^rtchildre?ioftcrath 
while unbelievers.. ..John iii. 18, 36 — Eph. ii. 3 — Acts iii. 10. 



342 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

Again — while they consider God merely under the charac- 
ter of a creditor, and us merely as debtors, and Christ as paying 
the zvhole debt of the elect.. ..now, because Christ obeyed the 
law, as well as suffered its penalty, therefore they seem to think 
that Christ has done all their duty, so that now they have no- 
thing to do but firmly to believe that Christ has done all: they 
have nothing to do with the Icav — no, not so much as to be their 
rule to live by ; but are set at fall liberty from all obligations to 
any duty whatsoever ; — -not understanding that Christ gave him* 
self to redeem his people from all iniquity, and purify them to him* 
self, a peculiar people , zealous of goodtvorks, (Tit. ii. 14.) — and not 
understanding that our natural obligations to perfect obedience 
are not capable of being dissolved, {Mat. v. 17.) — and not un- 
derstanding that our obligations to all holy living are mightily 
increased by the grace of the gospel, (Rom. xii. 1.) : Indeed, 
they seem to understand nothing rightly, but to view every 
thing in a wrong light ; and, instead of considering Christ as a 
friend to holiness — as one that loves righteousness and hates ini- 
quity, (Heb. i. 9.) they make him a minister of sin, (Gal. ii. 17.) 
and turn the grace of God into wantonness : All their notions 
tend to render their consciences insensible of the evil of sin — to 
cherish spiritual pride and carnal security, and to open a door 
to all ungodliness, 

SECTION V. 
SHOWING A DOOR OF MERCY IS OPENED BY JESUS CHRIST FOR 

A GUILTY WORLD. 

I come now to another thing proposed, viz. 

III. To show more particularly what way to life has been 
opened, by what Christ, our Mediator, has done and suffered. 

In general, from what has been said, we may see that the 
mighty bar which lay in the way of mercy is removed by Je- 
sus Christ ; and now a door is opened, and a way provided, 
wherein the great Governor of the world may, consistently with 
the honor of his holiness and justice. ..his law and government, 
and sacred authority, and to the glory of his grace, put in execu- 
tion all his designs of mercy towards a sinful, guilty, undone 
world. — But to be more particular, 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 343 

(1 .) A way is opened, wherein the great Governor of the world 
mat/, consistently with his honor, and to the glory of his grace, 
pardon, and receive to favor, and entitle to eternal life, all and 
every one of the human race, who shall cordially fall in with the 
gospel-design.. .believe in Christ, and return home to God through 
him. 

What Christ has done is, in fact, sufficient to open a door for 
God, through him, to become reconcileable to the whole world. 
The sufferings of Christ, all things considered, have as much 
displayed God's hatred of sin, and as much secured the honor 
of his law, as if the whole world had been damned — as none 
will deny, who believe the infinite dignity of his divine nature. 
God may now, therefore, through Jesus Christ, stand ready to 
pardon the whole world : — There is nothing in the way. And 
the obedience of Christ has brought as much honor to God, and 
to his law, as the perfect obedience of Adam, and of all his race, 
would have done : the rights of the God-head are as much 
asserted and maintained : So that there is nothing in the way, 
but that mankind may, through Christ, be received into full 
favor, and entitled to eternal life. God may stand ready to do 
it, consistenly with his honor. What Christ has done is every 
way sufficient. Mat. xxii. 4.... All things are now ready. 

And God has expressly declared that it was the design of 
Christ's death, to open this door of mercy to all — John iii. 16 
....God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, 
that whosoever believethin him should not perish, but have ev- 
erlasting life — That whosoever, of all mankind, whether Jew 
or Greek, bond or free, rich or poor, without any exception, 
though the chief of sinners, that believes, should be saved; For 
this end, God gave his only begotten Son. He set him forth 
to be a propitiation for sin, that he might be just, and the justi* 
fer of him (without any exception, let him be who he will,) that 
believeth in fesus.... Rom. iii. 25, 26. 

Hence, the apostles received an universal commission. Mat. 

xxviii. 19.. ..Go, teach all nations. Mark xvi. 15, 16. ...Go 

ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every crea- 

W w 



344 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

ture. Accordingly, the apostles proclaimed the news of par- 
don and peace to every one-*- -offered mercy to all without ex- 
ception, and invited all without distinction. He that believeth 
shall be saved... .Repent, and be converted, that your sins maybe 
bhttedout, were declarations they made to all in general. To 
the Jewish nation they were sent to say, in the name of the 
King of heaven, I have prepared my dinner ; my oxen and my 
failings are killed, and all things are ready : come unto the mar* 
riage....'h/la.t. xxii. 4. And as to the Gentile nations, their or- 
ders ran thus : — Go ye, therefore, into the high-ways, and as 
many as ye find, bid to the marriage, (ver. 9.) To the Jewish 
nation God had been used to send his servants the prophets, in 
the days of old, saying, Turn ye, turn ye ; why will ye die?.... 
Ezek. xxxiii. 11. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come....Isz. lv. 
1. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul 
shall live, (ver. 3) : And now orders are given that the whole 
world be invited to a reconciliation to God through Christ : 
Whosoever will, let him come. ...and he thatcometh shall in no wise 
be cast out. Thus, Christ has opened a door ; and thus, the 
great Governor of the world may, consistently with his honor, 
be reconciled to any that believe and repent : And thus he ac- 
tually stands ready. 

And now, all things being thus ready on God's side, and the 
offers, invitations, and calls of the gospel being to every one, 
without exception ; hence,, it is attributed to sinners themselves 
that they perish at last-^even to their own voluntary conduct. 
Te will not come to me, that ye might have life.... John v. 40 : and 
they are considered as being perfectly inexcusable. John xv. 
22.,. .Now they have no cloak for their sin : And all because a 
way is opened, in which they might be delivered from con- 
demnation ; but they will not comply therewith. John iii. 19... 
This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and 
men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil: 
And therefore, in scripture-account, they stand exposed to a 
more aggravated punishment in the world to come. Mat. xi. 
20 — 24?... .Woe unto thee, Chorazin, woe unto thee, Bethsaida, 



I)I5TIK3VI3KID FROM ALL COUNT£RF£ITi. 345 

&c— *And: which art et unto heaven, shall 

he brought down to hell, &c. It shall be mere t: re, 

and Sidon* and Sodcrr. \ than for these 

cities ; because they rep. 

And now, because the door of me: bus opened to the 

dbv the blood of Christ, therefore, in scripture, he 
is called : D.. M L John iv. 14 — The L.\ 

. which takes crwau the sin of the world.,.,1' — 

A p roffitiationjb r the i D . . . , I . J ohn i i . 2 

— i elf a ransom for all. ...I. Tim. ii. 6 — And 

tost KAK....Heb. ii. 9 : "lain sense of 

ail i ianger of oust 

d hi. 16,.. J world, that 

-ave his only begs: 

life.*: . '^*as 

not the door of m to ail y ... . :uld 

Or heart U ? Or 

thf blan .;o clo n i Or ;\ 

ihem fc: 

D t died r .e in- 

.: that they, only upon be". . ..:, cons:- 1 

:ne ho: tbenG : 

ently v .iieve: 

ui sheddin ; : i, there can be no remissk ..... K 

>. , . . :i not d 

I to be saved con /ldition of 

faith, then r opened : 

ed wider than Christ designed it should bj ; — ;;. 

• *■ 1 ..Ay to pr he famous Dcct^ 

• • I «... • r, as out of the mouths of all our vho 

*' hears the gospel, (without d . reprobate) is b 

iied for him, so : 
<k c: : . and the salvation of his soul, in case he i 

-in, u A : Duld not have been saved, u 

pented. :might have been saved, if he h;i 

" jfobn iii. 16, gi 

1 to have died 'Jar the tint of 'the xt — 

: : — that -. bosoevcr belie tf peritk 

** bane everUistir.g life" — Dr . l, on :: 

*c.;.-.; of mercy, kc. 



346 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

more purchased by his death than he intended : if this benefit 
was not intended, then it is not procured ; — if it be not procu- 
red, then the non-elect cannot any of them be saved, consistent- 
ly with divine justice : And, by consequence, if this be the 
case, then — (1.) The non-elect have no right at all to take any 
the least encouragement, from the death of Christ or the invita- 
tions of the gospel, to return to God through Christ, in hopes of 
acceptance : for there are no grounds of encouragement given. 
Christ did not die for them in any sense. It is impossible their 
sins should be pardoned, consistently with justice ; — as much 
impossible as if there had never been a Savior.. .as if Christ had 
never died ; and so there is no encouragement at all for them : 
and therefore it would be presumption in them to take any ; — all 
which is apparently contrary to the whole tenor of the gospel, 
which every where invites all, and gives equal encouragement 
to all i— Come, for all things are ready, said Christ to the rep- 
robate Jews. ...Mat. xxii. 4 : And if the non-elect have no right 
to take any encouragement from the death of Christ, and the 
invitations of the gospel, to return to God through him, in hopes 
of acceptance, then* — (2.) No man at ail can rationally take any en- 
couragement until he knows that he is elected; because, until 
then, he cannot know that there is any ground for encourage- 
ment. It is not rational to take encouragement before we see 
sufficient grounds for it ; yea, it is presumption to do so : But 
no man can see sufficient grounds of encouragement to trust in 
Christ, and to return to God through him, in hopes of accep- 
tance, unless he sees that God may, through Christ, consistent- 
ly with his honor, accept and save him, and is willing so to do. 
If God can, and is actually willing to save any that comes, 
then there is no objection: I may come, and any may come 
— all things are ready. ...there is bread enough, and to spare : 
But if God is reconcileable only to the elect, then I may not 
come,. ..I dare not come... .it would be presumption to come, 
till I know that Lam elected. And how can I know that ?... 
Why, not by any thing in all the Bible. While an unbeliever, 
it is impossible I should know it by any thing in scripture : 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 34T 

It is no where said, in express words, that I, by name, am 
elected, and there are no rules of trial laid down in such a 
: : And how can I, therefore, in this case, ever know 
thnt I am elected, but by an immediate revelation from 
heaven I And how shall I know that this revelation is true ? 
How shall I dare to venture my soul upon it r....The gos] 
does not teach me to look for any such revelation, nor gi 
any marks whereby I may know when it is from God, and 

.en from the devil : Thus, an invincible bar is laid in mv 
way to life ; I must know that I am one of the elect, before I 
can see any encouragement to believe in Christ ; because none 
but the elect have any more business to do so than the devils : 

:, if I am one of the elect, yet it is impossible I should know it 
till afterwards : Besides, all this is contrary to the whole tenor 
of the gospel — H ill, let him come. ...Whosoever comes ^ 

shall in no wise be cast out. ...Whosoever believes, shall be saved — 
And contrarv to the experience of all true believers, who, in 
their first return to God thiough Christ, always take all their en- 
couragement from the gospel, and lay the weight of their souls 
upon the train of that ; and venture their eternal all upon this 
bottom, and not upon the truth of any new revelation : They 
venture their ail upon the truths already revealed in the gospel, 
and not upon the truth of any proposition not revealed there. 

So that, let us view this point in what light we wilL, nothing 
is more clear and certain than that Christ died, that whosoev- 
er believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 
And God mavnow be just, and yet justify any of the race of Ad- 
am that believe in Jesus : and he stands ready to do so. — And 

M things being true, the servants, upon good grounds, might, 
in their master's name, tell the obstinate Jews, who did not be- 
long to the election of grace, and who finally refused to hear- 
ken to the calls of the gospel, Behold* I have prepared my din* 
:xen and myJmtBngs are Killed, and a I things are rea- 
dy : Mat. xxii. 4: And if they bad 

come, they would have been heartily welcome : the provision 
made was sufficient, and the invi -incere : Jesus wept over 



34-8 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

them, saying, that thou hadst known, in this thy day, the things 
which belong to thy peace ! So that there was nothing to hinder, 
had they but been willing. But it seems they were otherwise 
disposed ; and therefore they made light of it, and went their 
xvays..,one to his farm, another to his merchandise ; and the rem- 
nant took his servants, and entreated them- spitefully, and slevo 
them, (ver. 5, 6.) And in this glass we may see the very nature 
of all mankind, and how all would actually do if not prevented 
by divine grace : Justly, therefore, at the day of judgment, will 
this be the condemnation, that light has come into the world, but 
men loved darkness rather than light: For certainly, if 
mankind are so perversely had, that, not withstanding their nat- 
ural obligations tcv God, and the unreasonableness of their ori- 
ginal apostacv, they will yet persist in their rebellion — and, af- 
ter all the glorious provision and kind invitations of the gospel, 
will net return to God through Christ ; — -I say, certainly.. God 
is not obliged to come out after them, and, by his all-conquer- 
ing grace, irresistibly reclaim them ; but may justly let every 
man take his own course, and run his own ruin : And an ag- 
gravated damnation will every such person deserve in the com- 
ing world, yi;* neglecting so great sahation.. mj .Heb. ii. 2, 3. 

And now, if Christ's atonement and merits be thus sufficient 
for all. ..and if God stands ready to be reconciled to all.. .and if 
all are invited to return and come—whence, then, we may learn 
that it is safe for any of the poor, sinful, guilty, lost, undone 
race of Adam to return to God in this way : They shall surely 
find acceptance with God : they may come xviihout money, and 
without price ; and he that cometli shall in no wise be cast out. 

And hence we may see upon what grounds it is, that tho 
poor, convinced, humbled sinner is encouraged and embolden- 
ed to venture his all upon Christ, and return to God through 
him. It is because any poor, sinful, guilty, hell-deserving 
wretch may come — any in the world — the worst in the world 
- — the vilest, and most odious and despicable : for such he ac- 
tually takes himself to be. And if he did not see that til* 
was an open door for such. ...for any such.. ..for all such, he 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 

would doubt, and that with good reason too, whether .-ht 

safely come. Bu i he und . :- 

pel- ion, and so is ; ....ibrali 

.... rst, dow the pecui =ness and un- 

worthin Yich he sees in himseli a to be :ction: 

He sees it safe for any, and therefor :m — and hence take3 

courage, and is emboldened to re his ail upon the free 

grace of God, through Jesus Christ ; and so i pea 

of a ice. Now, does this poor sinner venture upon a 

ie found ^r does he not I lie takes it for granted 

that the supreme Governor of the i an, consi:;. ith 

his lion or, show mercy to any that come i :,t ; 

and he .: for granted that he stands ready to do so, even 

to the vil: . iat the door of mercy stands wide 

a, and : : And, upon these princi- 

ples, he tabes encouragement to return to God, in hopes of ac- 
ceptance : and, from a sense of his own wants, and of the glory 
and ficiencvof the divine nature.., .of the blessedness there 

is in being the Lord's, devoted to him, and living upon him, 
he does return with ail his heart ; and to God he gives himself, 
to be forever his : and if the gospel be true, surely he must be 
safe. The truth of the bundationof all ; for up- 

on that, and that only, he builds : not upon works of . IS- 

rich he has done — not upon any immediate aof 

pardon, or the love of Christ to him in pai ir ; but met 

upon gospel-principle s. If they, therefore, prove true, in the 
coming world, then will he re - oi his faith — the 

salvation of his soul. But to return, 

Thus we see that, by the death of Christ, there is a wide 
door opened for divine mercy to exercise and display 

supreme Governor i 1 may, consistently with his 

honor, now scat rone of urn 

the news of pardon and peace through a id it 

is perfectl • 

unto him t b Jesus I mankind in 

a disposition to be heartily sorry for their cy from Gud, 



250 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

and disposed to esteem it their indispensable duty, and highest 
blessedness, to -re turn ; were this the case, the joyful news of 
a Savior, and of pardon and peace through him, would fly 
through the world like lightning, and every heart would be; melt- 
ed with love, and sorrow, and gratitude ; and all the nations of 
the earth would come, and fall down in the dust before the 
Lord, and bless his holy name, and devote themselves to him 
forever, lamenting, in the bitterness of their hearts, that ever 
they did break away from their subjection to such a God. And 
were mankind sensible of their sinful, guilty, undone state by 
LAW, and disposed to justify the law, and condemn themselves 
- — and were they sensible of the holiness and justice of the great 
Governor of the world, they would soon see their need of such 
a mediator as Christ Jesus, and soon see the wonderful grace 
of the gospel, and soon see the glory of this way of salvation, 
and so know it to be from God, believe it, and fall in with it ; 
and all the world would repent and convert of their own accord 
- — and so all the world might be saved without any more to do. 
But, instead of this, such is the temper of mankind, that there 
is not one in the world, that, of his own accord, is disposed to 
have any such regard to God, or sorrow for his apostacy, or in- 
clination to repent and return ; nor do men once imagine that 
they are in a state so wretched and undone, and stand in such 
a perishing need of Christ and free grace ; and therefore they 
are ready to make light of the glad tidings of the gospel, and 
go their ways...onetohisfarm, another to his merchandise : nor 
is there one of all the human race disposed, of his own accord, 
to lay down the weapons of his rebellion, and return to God by 
Jesus Christ : So that all will come to nothing, and not one be 
ever brought home to God, unless something farther be done — 
unless some methods, and methods very effectual, be used. 

But that God should come out after such an apostate race, 
who, without any grounds, have turned enemies to him, and, 
without any reason, refuse to be reconciled.... and that after all 
the glorious provision and kind invitations of the gospel ; — that 
God, I sav, should come out after such, and reclaim them bv 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERIEITS. 351 

his own sovereign and all-conquering grace, might seem to be 
going counter to the holiness and justice of his nature, and to 
tend to expose his law and government, and sacred authority, 
to contempt ; in as much as they so eminently deserve to be 
consumed by the fire of his wrath. Therefore, 

(2.) Jesus Christ did, by his obedience and death, open such 
a door of mercy, as that the supreme Governor of the world 'might, 
consistently with his honor, take what methods he pleased, in or- 
der to recover rebellious, guilty, stubborn sinners to himself 

That he might take what methods he pleased, I say — for he 
knew, from the days of eternity, how mankind would be dis- 
posed to treat him, his Son, and his grace ; and he knew, from 
eternity, what methods he intended to take to reclaim them : 
and these are the methods which he now pleases to take — and 
the methods.. .,yea, the only methods which he actually does 
take : So that it is the same thing, in effect, to say that, by what 
Christ has done and suffered, a door is opened for the most 
high, consistently with his honor, to take — 1. What methods 
he actually does take, or — 2. What methods he pleases, or — 3. 
What methods ht,from eternity, intended : For all amount to 
just one and the same thing : for what pleased him from eter- 
nity, the same pleases him now ; and what pleases him now, 
that he actually does. The infinite perfection of his nature 
does not admit of any new apprehension, or alteration of judg- 
ment. By his infinite understanding he always had, and has, 
and will have, a complete view of all things, past, present, and 
to come, at once : And by his infinite wisdom, and the perfect 
rectitude of his nature, he unchangeably sees and determines 
upon that conduct which is right, and fit, and best : For with 
him there is no variableness, nor shadow oftx truing... James i. 1 7. 

Now, that what Christ has done and suffered, was sufficient 

to open a way lor the honorable exercise of his sovereign grace, 

in recovering sinners to himself, is evident, from what has been 

heretofore observed : And that it was designed for this end, 

and has, in fact, effectually answered it, is plain, from God's 

conduct in the affair : for otherwise he could not, cons istently 

X x 



352 TRUE PvELlGION DELINEATED, AND 

with his honor, or the honor of his law, use those means to re- 
claim sinners, which he actually does : For all those methods 
of grace would else be contrary to law, which does not allow 
the sinner to have any favor shown him, without a sufficient se- 
curity to the divine honor, as has been before proved. The 
law, therefore, has been satisfied in this respect, or these favors 
could not be shown : for heaven and earth shall sooner pass 
away, than the law be disregarded in any one point. It follows, 
therefore, that not only special and saving grace, but also that 
all the common favors which mankind in general enjoy, and 
that all the means of grace which are common to the elect and 
non-elect, are the effects of Christ's merits : AH were purcha- 
sed by him ; none of these things could have been granted to 
mankind, but for him. Christ has opened the door, and an in- 
finite sovereign goodness has strewed these common mercies 
round the world. All those particulars wherein mankind are 
treated better than the damned in hell, are over and above 
what mere law would allow of, and therefore are the ef- 
fects of Christ's merits and gospel-grace. And for this, 
among other reasons, Christ is called the Savior of the world : 
And hence, also, God is said to be reconciling the tvorldto him- 
self not imputing their trespasses unto them....ll. Cor. v. 19 : 
Because, for the present, their punishment is suspended, and 
they are treated in a way of mercy.... are invited to repentance, 
and have the offers of pardon and peace, and eternal life made 
unto them ; — hence, I say, God is said not to impute their sins 
unto them — agreeably with that parallel place in Psalm lxxviii. 
38, where God is said to forgive the iniquity of his people, be- 
cause he destroyed them not. 

Upon the whole, then, this seems to be the true state of the 
case : — God is, through Christ, ready to be reconciled to all 
and every one that will repent and return unto him through Je- 
sus Christ : He sends the news of pardon and peace around 
a guilty world, and invites every one to come, saying, He 
that believeth, shall be saved ; and he that believcthnot, shall be 
damned : and, on this account, it is said that he will have all 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 353 

men to be screed, and is not willing that any should perish ; be- 
cause he offers salvation to all, and uses arguments to dissuade 
them from perdition. But, in as much as mankind will not 
hearken, but are obstinately set its their way, therefore he takes 
state upon himself, and says, I will have mercy on whom I will 
have mercy : and a sinful, guilty world arc in his hands, and he 
mav use what methods of grace with all that he pleases : Some 
he may suffer to take their own way, and run their own ruin, if he 
pleases — and others he may subdue and recover to himself, by his 
own all-conquering grace: And, unto a certain number, from eter- 
nity, he intended to show this special mercy: and these are said to 
be given to Christ, (John vi. 37.*) And with a special eye to 
these sheep did he lay dozvn his life, (John x. 15.) — his Father 
intending, and he intending, that they, in spite of all opposition, 
should be brought to eternal life at last : and hence the elect do 
always obtain, (Rom. xi. 7, compared with John vi. 37.) And 
here we may learn how to understand those places of scripture 
which seem to limit Christ's undertaking to a certain number. 
Mat. i. 21. ...Thou shah call his name Jesus ; because he shall 
save his people from their sins. — Eph. v. 23.... He is the head 
of the church ; and he is the Savior of the body. — Ver, 25.... 
Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it. — Acts xx. 
28.... He hath purchased his church with his own blood. — John 
x. 15..../ lay down my life for the sheep. — There were a cer- 
tain number which the Father and Son, from all eternity, de- 
signed for vessels of mercy, to bring to glory..../?: m. ix. 23. — 
With a view to these, it was promised in the covenant of re- 
demption that Christ should see of the travail f his s;>d....l$.\\. 
liii. 11. — And Christ says, in John vi. 37, 38, 39, All th ri 
Father giveth me, shall come to me ; and him that Cometh to 
I will in no wise cast out.. ..For I came down from hi oven, not 
to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me — b d this 
is the Fathers will which hath sent me, that oj which he 
hath given me I should lose nothing, but should r 
at the last day. — See, also, Tit. ii. 14 — Rev. v. 9, 10 — Epb. i. 
4, 5,6. 



354 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

Thus Christ's merits are sufficient for all the world, and the 
door of mercy is opened wide enough for all the world ; and 
God, the supreme Governor, has proclaimed himself reconcile- 
able to all the world, if they will believe and repent : And if 
they will not believe and repent, he is at liberty to have mercy 
on whom he will have mercy, and to show compassion to whom 
he will show compassion.. .according to the good pleasure of his 
will, to the praise of the glory of his grace. He sits Sovereign, 
and a rebellious, guilty world are in his hands, and at his dis- 
posal ; and the thing that seems good in his sight, that he will 
do : and it is infinitely fit, right, and best he should.. .that the 
pride of all fiesh may be brought low, and the Lord alone be ex- 
alted forever* And as this view of things seems exactly to har- 
monize with the whole tenor of the gospel ingmera^an&to agree 
with the various particular representations of our redemption by 
Christ — and to reconcile those texts which seem to speak of an 
universal redemption, with those which seem to speak of a. par- 
ticular redemption, so it will naturally suggest an easy answer to 
any objections which may be made against it. 

Ob j. 1 . If Christ has suffered the penalty of the law, not only 

for the elect, but also for the non-elect, how can it be just that they 

themselves should be made to suffer it over again forever in hell? 

Ans. Because Christ did not die with a design to release 
them from their deserved punishment, but only upon condition 
of faith ; and so they have no right to the release, but upon that 
condition : It is as just, therefore, they should be punished as 
if Christ had never died, since they continue obstinate to th» 
last ; and it. is just, too, they should have an aggravated dam- 
nation, for refusing to return to God, despising the offers of 
mercy, and neglecting so great salvation.... John iii. 16 — 19. 

Ob j. 2. If Christ obeyed the preceptive part of the kav, not 
only for the elect, but also for the non-elect, why are not all 
brought to eternal life, since eternal life is by law promised to per- 
fect obedience ? 

Ans. Because Christ did not purchase eternal life for them, 
but upon the condition of faith : But they would not come to 



DISTINGUISHED FRO^I ALL COUNTERFEITS, 355 

Christ, that they might have life ; and therefore they justly per- 
ish. ...John iii. 16 — 19. 

Obj. 3. But for what purpose did Christ die for those ~vh* 
were in hell a long time before his death P 

Ans. And to what purpose did lie die for those who were in 
heaven a long time before his death?.. .The truth is, that when 
Christ laid down his life a ransom for ail, he only accomplished 
what he undertook at the beginning. Christ actually interpo- 
sed as Mediator immediately upon the fall of man, and under- 
took to secure the divine honor, by obeying and suffering in 
the room of a guilty world; and therefore, through him, God 
did oifer mercy to Cain as well as to Abel, and show common 
favors to the world in general, as well as grant special grace to 
the elect ; and that before his death, as well as since. Surely 
none will deny that all the favors which mankind did enjoy pri- 
or to Christ's death, were by virtue of his undertaking to be 
Mediator, and engaging to secure the divine honor : for, upon 
any other footing, the Governor of the world could not have 
granted such favors consistently with his honor. 

Obj. 4. But if Christ died for ali> then he died in dain^ since 
all are not saved. 

Ans. The next and immediate end of Christ's death was 
to answer the ends of moral government, and so secure the 
honor of the moral Governor, and open a way in which he might 
honorably declare himself reconcileable to a guilty world upon 
their returning through Christ, and use means to reclaim them ; 
but this end Christ did obtain — and so did not die in vain.... 
John iii. 16 — Rom. iii. 24, 25, 26. And the supreme Gover- 
nor of the world will now, through Christ, accomplish all the 
designs of his heart, to the everlasting honor of his great 
name. 

Obj. 5. But why would God have a door opened, that he 

lit, consistently with his honor, offer to be reconciled to all that 

will return to him through Christ, when he knew that the;.' - 

elect would never return ? And why would he have a door 

that he might use means with them, when he knew all would be 



356 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

in vain, unless he himself recovered them by his all-conquering 
grace, which yet he never designed to do ? 

Ans. God designed to put an apostate world into a new 
state of probation. Mankind were in a state of probation in 
Adam, their public head, and we all sinned in him and fell with 
him in his first transgression : But God designed to try the 
posterity of Adam anew, and see whether they would be sorry 
for their apostacy, or choose to continue in their rebellion. He 
would tender mercy, and offer to be reconciled, and call them 
to return, and use arguments and motives, and promise 
and threaten, and try and see what they would do. He 
knew mankind would be ready to deny their apostacy, and 
plead that they w T ere not enemies to God, and think themselves 
very good-natured — and would take it exceedingly hard not to 
be believed : therefore he determined to try them, and see 
what they would do, and make public declaration through the 
world, that, finally, he would judge every man according to his 
works, and deal with him according to his conduct : And, 
in the mean time, that his honor might be secured, he appoints 
his Son to be Mediator ; and so, through him, proclaims the 
news of pardon and peace, and enters upon the use of means : 
and now, if you ask me " Why does he do all this, when he 
" knows it will be in vain, as to the non-elect, who will never 
u come to repentance ?" — 

/answer — His knowing that all will, in the event, prove in- 
effectual to bring them to repentance, is no objection against 
his using the means he does : for God does not make his fore- 
knowledge of events the rule of his conduct ; but the reason 
and fitness of things. You may as well inquire, " Why did 
" God raise up Noah to be a preacher of righteousness to the 
u old world, for the space of an hundred and twenty years, when 
" he knew they would never come to repentance ? — And why 
" did he send all his servants, the prophets, to the children of 
u Israel, rising early and sending, and, by them, command and 
w call.. .entreat and expostulate. ..promise and threaten, and say, 
" As Hive, saith the Lord God, I delight not in the death of a 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 357 

€i shiner : turn ye, turn ye ; why will ye die I when he knew 
" they would never come to repentance ? — And why did he af- 
" terwards send his Son to the same obstinate people, when he 
" knew they would be so far from hearkening, as that they 
" would rather put him to death ?" — Now, if you ask me why 
the great Governor of the world uses such means with the non- 
elect, and shows so much goodness, patience, forbearance, and 
long-suffering, instead of sending all immediately to deserved 
destruction ? — I answer, it is to try them ; and to show that 
he is the Lord God, gracious and merciful. ...slow to anger, and 
abundant in goodness. It is fit that creatures in a state of pro- 
bation should be tried, and he loves to act like himself ; and 
he means, in and by his conduct, to do both at once : And after 
obstinate sinners have long abused that goodness zndforbear- 
ance, which should have led them to repentance — and have, after 
their own hard and impenitent hearts y been treasuring up wrath 
against the day of wrath, the righteousness of God's judgment, 
in their eternal destruction, will be most manifest. And what 
if God was determined not to reclaim rebels, voluntarily so ob- 
stinate, by his all-conquering grace, but let them take their 
course, seeing they were so set in their way ? What then ?... 
Was he not at liberty ? Was he bound to save them all by an ex- 
ertion of his omnipotence ? Might he not have mercy on whom 
he would? And, after such long-suffering, might; he not show 
his wrath, and make his power knoxvn, in the eternal destruction 
of those who so justly deserved it ? God's last end, no doubt, 
is to manifest his perfections : and in and by his whole conduct 
towards a fallen world, they will all be most illustriously dis- 
played... .Rom. xi. 36. 

Obj. 6. But considering that the non-elect a re, after all, under 
an absolute impossibility to believe and repent, convert and be sa- 
ved... .and considering that all common mercies, and means cf 
grace, xvill only render them the more inexcusable in the aid, 
and so aggravate their guilt and damnation — therefore, all things 
considered, what seeming good they aijoy hi this xvorld, is not 
of the nature of a ;mercy : it would be better for them to be 



358 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

without It : Sodom and Gomorrah will be better of it in the 
day of judgment, than Chorazin and Bethsaida :* and therefore 
there is no need to suppose that any thing which the non-elect 
enjoy in this world, is the effect of Chris? s merits, but only of 
divine sovereignty. 

Ans. What do you mean by being under an absolute impossi- 
bility to believe and repent ...convert and be saved? Using words 
without determinate ideas is one principal thing which bewil- 
ders the world about matters of religion : Now, in plain En- 
glish, all things are ready.. ..and they are invited to cc?me....and 
there is nothing in the way of their being saved : but, they are 
not sorry for their apostacy from God, nor will be brought to 
it by all the means God uses with them : They have not a mind 
to return to God, nor will they be persuaded by all the most 
powerful arguments that can be used : they are volutary ene- 
mies to God, and will not be reconciled, unless by an almighty 
power and all-conquering grace, which God is not obliged to 
give, and they are infinitely unworthy of..,. and without which 
they might return, were they but of such a temper as they ought 
to be : they are under no inability but what consists in and results 
from their want of a good temper of mind, and their voluntary 
obstinacy. Sin has no power over men, but as they are incli- 
ned \.o it j and the inclinations of the heart are always voluntary 
and unforced. Men love to be inclined as they are ; for oth- 
erwise their inclinations would be so far from having any power 
over them, that they would even cease to be. — Now certainly 
the bringing up of the children of Israel out of Egypt was of the 
nature of a mercy, and a great mercy too indeed it was, not- 
withstanding that, through their unbelief and perverseness, they 
never got to Canaan : The thing, in itself, was as great a mer- 

* It ma-' be proper just to hint the gross absurdities implied in this ob- 
jection. If tne non-elect were under an absolute (i. e. not only a moral, 
but natural) impossibility to turn to God, they would not be proper subjects 
to use any means with : And if their common favors, and means of grace 
were not of the nature of mercies, they could not aggravate their guilt : 
And if it was not choir own fault that they did not repent under the en- 
joyment cf means, they would not be to blame, nor deserve to be punished 
for not repe Men stumble into such absurdities by using word* 

without determinate ideas. 



DISTINGUISHED ER0M ALL COUNTERFEITS. 359 

cy to the body of that generation, as it was to Caleb and Joshua : 
and their bad temper and bad conduct, which prevented their 
ever coming to the promised land, did not alter the nature of 
the thing at all, nor lessen their obligations to gratitude to God, 
their mighty deliverer : And yet, all things considered, it had 
been better for them to have died in their Egyptian bondage, 
than to have had their carcases fall in the wilderness, ia such 
art awful manner. And besides, it is evident that the scrip- 
tures do look upon the common favors, and means of grace, 
which the non-elect enjoy, under the notion of mercies ; and 
(which otherwise could not be) on this very ground their guilt is 
aggravated, and they rendered inexcusable, and worthy of a more 
sore punishment in the world to come... .y<?/m iii. 16 — 19, and 
xv. 22, 24 — Rom. ii. 4, 5 — Heb. ii. 2, 3. And if they are of 
the nature of mercies, then they are the effects of Christ's merits 
— as has been already proved. 

And hence, by the way, we may see the reason why the love 
and goodness of God, in bringing up the children of Israel out 
of Egypt, is so mightily set forth in the Old Testament, notwith- 
standing the body of that generation perished in the wilder- 
ness — and why the lave and goodness of God, in giving his Son 
to die for the world, is so mightily set forth in the New Tes- 
tament, notwithstanding multitudes of mankind perish forever : 
viz. It was the Israelites' own fault that they perished in the 
wilderness, and so it is sinners' own fault that they perish for- 
ever,... Jo fin iii. 19, and v. 40 : And did they feel it at heart, 
it would effectually stop their mouths : for this is an undoubt- 
ed maxim, that the kindnesses of God to a rebellious, perverse 
world, are not, in themselves, any the less mercies, because 
mankind abuse them to their greater ruin. The kindnesses 
are, in themselves, the same, whether we make a good improve- 
ment of them, or no : They are just the same, and so just as 
great, let our conduct be what it will. It was a great mercy 
to the Israelites to be delivered out of Egypt — it was a won- 
derful expression of divine goodness : and hence it is said, in 
Hos. xi. \..+.When Israel was a child, then /loved fum % and 

Y T 



360 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

called my Son out of Egypt. (And a like expression we have 
in Deut. x. 18....G^loveth the stranger, in giving him food 
and raiment.} And on the same ground it is said, in John lib 
16„..God so loved the world, &c. because the gift of Christ to 
die for the world was an infinite expression of divine goodness. 
And if mankind do generally abuse this goodness, as the Israel- 
ites generally did all God's kindnesses to them, yet still the 
goodness itself is just the same. A dreadful thing, therefore, 
it is for the non-elect... even as aggravated a piece of wickedness 
in them as it would be in any body else, to tread under foot 
the blood of the Son of God, and make light of all the offers of 
mercy, and neglect so great salvation : And this, above all 
other things, will be their condemnation in the coming world.... 
John iii. 19. Never are the Jews at all excused, any where 
hi the New Testament, in their slighting the offers of mercy 
by Christ, on this account, that they were not of the elect : 
And indeed the offers were sincere, and it was entirely their 
own fault that they did not accept, and they deserved to be 
treated accordingly.... Mat. xxii. 1 — 7. 

Obj. 7. But if God so loved the world, the whole world, 
as to give his only begotten So?i to die for them, in the sense ex- 
plained, why does he not go through, and perfect the work, and 
save the whole world, according to that in Rom. viii. 32 ?...♦ 
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us 
all, how shall he^not with him also freely give us all things ? 

Ans. 1. And why did not the King, in Mat. xxii. who had 
made a marriage for his Son, and sent his servants to say to 
them that were bidden, / have prepared my dinner ; my oxen 
and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready : come unto 
the marriage : — why did not the King, I say, when they refu- 
sed, compel them to come in ? Since he had done so much, why 
did he not go through, and finish the work ? And this is direct- 
ly to the point in hand, because this parable is designed to repre- 
sent that full provision which is made for the salvation of sinners 
by the death of Christ ; and it proves that the objection has no 
force in it. But farther — 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 361 

2. Take your Bible, and read from the 28th verse to the end 
of that 8th chapter of Romans, and you will see what the Apos- 
tle's design is, through his whole discourse. " We know," 
says he, " that all things work together for good to them that 
"love God. ...to them who are called according to his purpose. 
" But how do we know it I Why, because God is fully deter- 
u mined to bring them to glory at last : For, whom he didfore- 
u know r ,he also did predestinate ; and whom he did predesti- 
nate, them he also cailed^and them he justified, and them he 
" glorified. And God was so fully determined to bring them 
u to glory, and so much engaged in the thing, that he spared 
"not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all ; i. e. us, 
" who love God, and are his elect people :" (For it is of these, 
and these only, that he here is speaking.) f 4 And since he was 
"so much engaged as to do this, we may depend upon it that 
4 * he will also freely give us all things ; i. e, us, who love God, 
" and are his elect people : So that never any thing shall hin- 
" der our being finally brought to glory, or separate us from 
"the love of God — neither tribulation, nor persecution, nor 
" distress, nor any thing else." So that this is the apostle's ar- 
gument : — Since God was so much engaged to bring them to 
glory w T ho loved God, and were his elect people, as that he had 
given his own Son to die for that end, they, therefore, might 
have the strongest assurance that he would do every thing else 
which would be needful effectually to bring it about.* 

But God never designed to bring the non-elect to glory, when 
he gave his Son to die for the world : He designed to declare 
himself reconcileable to diem through Christ.. ..to offer mercy 
....to invite them, in common with others, to return.. ..and to as- 
sure all that he that believeth shall be saved....and to use means 

* If we leave God's design out of the apostle's argument, I cannot se« 
that his reasoning would be conclusive, any more than a like argument 
would have been conclusive, if we should suppose Moses to have used it 
with the Israelites at the side of the Red Sea. " Since God has now brought 
" you all out of Egypt, and thus divided the Red Sea before you, and 
u drowned your enemies, therefore he will now, without fail, bring you all 
•' to the promised land :" Which reasoning would not have been conclu- 
sive ; for the body of that generation died in the wilderness, and that in a 
very awful manner, notwithstanding this glorious deliverance. 



362 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

with them more or less, according to his pleasure ; but finally, 
they being obstinate, he designed to leave them to themselves, 
to take their own course, and, in the end, to deal with them ac- 
cording to their deserts.. . .Mat. xxiii. 37,38, andxxii. 1 — 7: 
And this being the case, the objection from the Apostle's words 
is evidently groundless. 

As to the opinion of the Arminians, that God equally design- 
ed salvation for all men, purposing to offer salvation to all, and 
use means with all, and leave all to their own free will, and save 
those, and those only, who, of their own accord, will become 
good men ; — as for this opinion, I say, I think thjy never learnt 
it from the Bible ; but rather, they seem to have been led into 
it from a notion that mankind are so good-natured that all 
might, and that at least some actually would, under the enjoy- 
ment of the common means of grace, become good men of their 
own accord, u e. without any such thing as special grace* Con- 
vince them that this is an error, and they will soon give up 
their scheme, and acknowledge their need of sovereign grace, 
and see the reasonableness and truth of the doctrine of elec- 
tion : Or rather, I may say, convince them, first of all, what 
God is, and what the law is, and what the nature of true religion 
is, that they may know what conversion means, and what it 
means to be a good man, and there will be no difficuly then to 
convince them of the depravity of mankind : for what leads 
them to think it so easy a thing to become a good man, and that 
men may be brought to it merely by the force of moral sua- 
sion, is, their wrong idea of the nature of true religion. If reli- 
gion be what they suppose, then, no doubt, any body may easily 
become good ; for corrupt nature can bear with such a religion : 
But if religion, or a conformity to God's law, be what I have 
endeavored to prove it to be in the former discourse, then, no 
doubt, mankind are naturally diametrically opposite thereto in the 
temper of their minds — even all mankind, Arminians as well as 
others : and all do, or might know it, if they would seriously 
and honestly weigh the matter ; for it is plain fact. The^lr- . 
minians are wont mightily to cry up works, and plead for the 



BISriNGVISIIID FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 363 

moral law, as though they were great friends to It : but if their 
mistakes abo;. ;orai law might cnce be rectified, and they 

be brought really and heartily to approve it, as holy, just, and 
i, one principal source of ail their errors would be dried up ; 
and particularly their wrong notions about election and iffifl 
sal redemption. 

; - But where was there any love,'' (will the object :r say) u in 
? G - Son to die for the non-elect — or sincerity in 

t; his c: :hem mercy, if he never designed to bring them 

w - to glory, but, from eternity, intended to leave them to perish 
u in their sins V*. 

And where was there any love, I answer ', in God's bringing 
the Israelites out of Egypt, or sincerity in his offering to bring 
them to Canaan, if he never designed eventually to bring them 
there, but, from eternity, intended to leave them to murmur 
and rebel, and to have their carcases fall in the wilderness? — 
The solution in both cases is the same, and is plainly this : — as 
it was the Israelites 1 own fault that they did not come to Ca- 
naan at last, so it is the sinners own fault that he fin ally falls short 
of glory : However, the Israelites were often in a rage, and 
ready to say, The Lord hath brought us into the wilderness, to 
kill us here ; and they murmured against God, and against Mo- 
....for which they were struck dead by hundreds and thou- 
sands : and just so sinners do — and the same punishment do 
thev deserve. But had the Israelites felt at heart that it was 
their own voluntary wickedness which was the sole cause of 
their ruin — and did sinners feel it at heart too, there would be 
no murmuring in one case or the other ; but every mouth 
would be stopped. — But I have spoken to this before. 

To conclude — if this representation of things which I have 
given be according to truth, hence, then, we may learn tht 

l things, which, indeed, were what I had principally in view 
in dwelling so long upon this subject, and laboring to ansv. 
objections ; — I say, we may learn — 1. That any poor sinner, all 
the world over, who hears the gospel and believes it, has suf- 
ficient grounds of encouragement, from the freeness of God's 



354 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

grace, and the sufficiency of Christ, and the universal calls of the 
gospel,toventurehiseternalALLinthiswayofsalvation,andmay 
safely return to God through Christ, in hopes of acceptance ; 
and that without any particular revelation that he is elected, or 
that Christ died for him in particular : u Any may come... ►the 
vilest and the worst ; and therefore I may come :" and there* 
fore such a particular revelation is perfectly needless : nor could 
it do any good ; for the truth of the gospel may be depended 
upon — but the truth of such a particular revelation cannot. — • 
2. That any poor, sinful, guilty, broken-hearted backslider, who 
groans under the burden of sin as the greatest evil, and longs to 
have the power of sin taken down, and his corruptions slain, 
and himself thoroughly subdued to God, may look up to the in- 
finite free grace of God through Jesus Christ, and pray, " Lord 
*■< take away this heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh : 
u Turn me, and I shall be turned : Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst 
44 make me clean : O create in me a clean heart, and renew in 
tc me a right spirit, and restore to me the joy of thy salvation ! 
" To thy sovereign grace and self-moving goodness I apply my- 
u self, through Jesus Christ : God be merciful to me a sinner :" 
and that whether he knows himself to be a child of God, or no ; 
and so whether he knows that he belongs to the number of the 
elect, or not : Nor does he need any particular revelation that 
Christ died for him in particular, or that he is elected, or that 
he is beloved of God : nor would these things do any good to 
clear up his warrant to come for mercy ; because God may, 
through Christ, give his holy spirit to any that ask him : All 
who are athirst are invited to come and take of the waters of 
life freely : u Any may come ; and therefore I may come, al- 
though the vilest creature in the world." And I appeal to 
all the generation of God's children, whether this has not been 
their way of coming to God through Christ, ever since the day 
they first came to know the Lord: Sure I am, this is the scrip- 
ture-way. God has sent out a proclamation through a sinful, 
guilty world, inviting all to come to him, through Jesus Christ, 
for all things — and given many encouragements, by represent- 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 863 

ing how free his grace is.. ..how sufficient Christ is, and how 
faithful his promises.... and that whosoever will, may come, &c. 
But no where in all the Bible has he revealed it that such and 
such in particular, by name, among mankind, are elected — and 
that for these individuals Christ died in particular, bv wav of 
encouragement to those particular persons, in order to let them 
know that they might safely trust in Christ, and come to God 
through him : But then must we be right, when we under- 
stand the gospel and believe it, and, upon the very encourage- 
ments which God has given, are emboldened to return, in hopes 
of acceptance : and this must be agreeable to God's will ; and to 
this must the influences of the true spirit tend : But to venture 
to return and look to God for mercy, merely upon any other 
ground, is anti-scriptural ; and whatsoever spirit influences 
thereunto cannot, therefore, be from God. 

And thus we see how the door of life is opened by Christ, 
our great Mediator and high-priest : And hence, Christ calls 
himself tlie door : John x. 9..../<7/w the door : by me, if any man- 
enter in, he shall be saved : And hence, also, he calls himself 
the way to the Father : John xiv. 5.... I am the way, the truth, 
and the life : No man comet h to the Father but by me ; for through 
him, (saith the Apostle. ...Eph. ii. 18), we both have an access, 
by one spirit, unto the Father : and also, through him, God is re- 
conciling the world to himself, sending ambassadors, dtod beseech- 
ing them to be reconciled. ...II. Cor. v. 19, 20. — Which leads 
me to the next thing proposed. 

SECTION VI 

A VIEW OF THE METHODS OF DIVINE GRACE WITH MANKIND, 

FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD. 

4. I am to show what methods the, great Governor cf the 
world has entered upon, in order to put in execution those design* 
of mercxj which he had in view when he contrived to open this 
3X)OR, in such a wonderful and glorious manner, by the inttrposi* 
lion of his own dear Son. 

The most high God is conscious of his own infinite excel- 
lence,. ..his right to, and authority over the children of men : 



366 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

He sees mankind as being under infinite obligations to love and 
obey him, and that the least defect is an infinite evil : He 
judges the law to be holy, just, and good.. ..and mankind wholly 
to blame for their non-conformity thereto, and worthy to be 
dealt with according to it : He knows their contrariety to him, 
to his law, and to his gospel : He sees all these things as they 
really are : His infinite wisdom sees how it is fit for such an 
one as he is, now, through a mediator, to conduct towards such 
a world as this is : He sees what conduct is most becoming, 
and, all things considered, most meet and suitable : and to this 
conduct the perfect rectitude of his nature prompts and inclines 
him. Upon the whole, he necessarily and freely determines 
to act like himself ; i. e. like an absolute Sovereign, infinite in 
wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. This was his 
determination from eternity — this is his determination in time 
— and according to this rule he actually proceeds, in all his 
methods with a sinful, guilty, obstinate world — Working all 
things according to the counsel of his own w///....Eph. i. 11 — 
sovereignly, and yet wisely,. ..holily and justly, andyet as £/z<? 
Lord God gracious and merciful, slow to miger, and abundant in 
goodness and truth. As is his nature, such is his conduct ; and 
hence his conduct exhibits to us the very image of his heart. 
Thus it is in the impetration 9 and thus it is in the application of 
our redemption, and in all the methods he takes with a guilty 
world in general : And hence, all his ways are calculated to 
exalt God, and humble the sinner — to honor the law, and dis- 
countenance sin — to exclude boasting, and to glorify grace ; — 
as we shall more fully see in what follows : 

(1.) As being the supreme Lord and sovereign Ruler of the 
whole world, he does, through Jesus Christ, the great Media- 
tor, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, by whom 
his honor has been secured — he does, I say, through lum^grant^ 
and, by an act of grace, confirm to the world of mankind, a 
general reprieve from that utter ruin which was threatened by 
the law, and to which an apostate world were exposed. Total 
destruction was threatened in case of disobedience : Gen. ii. 17 



DISTINGUISHED PROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, S6f 

....In dying thou shalt die ; i. e. thou shaltdie with a witness.... 
thy ruin shall be complete. And now nothing could be expect- 
ed but a dreadful doom, and to be sealed down under everlast- 
ing despair : But, instead of this, the great God dooms the 
tempter, and threatens utter ruin to his new-erected kingdom : 
Gen. iii. 14, 15,. ..Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed — 
and thy head shall he bruised. But guilt}' man is reprieved 
from a total ruin, and allowed a space for repentance : And the 
world has now stood almost six thousand years, reprieved by 
the tender mercy of God, through Jesus Christ. 

Indeed, certain evils were denounced by the Majesty of 
heaven, as standing monuments of his displeasure, always to 
attend a guilty race while in this world. Peculiar sorrows 
were appointed to women, and hard labor and toil to men, and 
sickness and pain to both, till death should put an end to their 
reprieve and to their space for repentance. ..(ver. 16 — 19) : — 
And when our day to die shall come, we are not to know : 
we lie at mercy, and God acts sovereignly : so long as he plea- 
ses, so long shall we be reprieved, and no longer : And thus, 
whil^ tender mercy appears in the general reprieve, the holi- 
ness, and justice, and sovereignty of God appear in the manner 
of it. God is exalted — a guilty world lies at his mercy — they 
are, in a sense, continually under his rod, and every moment 
liable to drop into an eternal hell : They are held up in his 
hand.... hell gapes to receive them, and now he lets one fall, 
and then another.. ..now this, and then that, just as it seems 
good in his sight. Surely, this is awful ! Surely, mankind are 
in very humbling circumstances, and in circumstanses wonder- 
fully calculated to awaken them to repent, and pray to God t if 
peradventure their wickedness may be forgiven. 

When the general reprieve, granted to this lower world, shall 
come to a period, then will the great Judge of the world pro- 
ceed, with all who shall be found impenitent, according io law, 
without any mixture of mercy. The present reprieve, granted 
as a space for repentance, is not of the knv, but of mere grace 
through Jesus Christ. Now grace takes place, and patience, 



Z 



z 



368 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

forbearance, and long-suffering, sit on the throne : but then. 
law shall take place, and strict justice reign. The mediation 
of Christ, at present, secures the honor of law and justice, 
and opens the door for grace ; but then the day of grace will be 
at an end -. A guilty world shall no longer be treated in a way 
of mercy, and favored on Christ's account ; but be proceeded 
against in flaming fire and terrible vengeance, and every one 
be punished according to his deserts. How long the day of 
God's patience with a guilty world is to last, we know not, A 
guilty world lies at his mercy, and may be all summoned to the 
bar when he pleases. Surely this is awful and awakening ! 
but this is the state in which God means to show all long-suf- 
fering, and to exercise and display the infinite patience of 4iis 
nature : and surely this should lead us to repentance ! Thus, 
this is one step in a way of mercy, which God, in his infinite 
grace through Jesus Christ, has taken with a guilty world. 
And what is the improvement which mankind are disposed to 
make of it ? Why, because sentence against their evil works is 
not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the Sons of men is 
fully set in them to do ^//....Eccle. viii. 11. 

(2.) Another favor granted to mankind in general by the 
great Governor of the world, through Jesus Christ, is, a com- 
petency of the good things of this life for their comfortable support y 
while under this reprieve, and in this new state of probation. 
By law, mankind, for their apostacy, stood disinherited of eve- 
ry good thing, doomed to a complete destruction. ...Gen. ii. 17; 
but now, through a Mediator, they are dealt with in a way of 
mercy. It is true, in token of the divine displeasure, God turned 
man out of paradise, and cursed the ground, and subjected 
man to hard labor, (Gen. hi.) but then, at the same time, for 
Christ's sake, a general grant of many good things is made to 
a guilty world : They are allowed to live on God's earth.... 
breathe in his air.. .see by the lightof his sun...to eat of the herb 
of the field, and to eat bread in the sweat of their face. ...to clothe 
themselves with the skins of slain beasts*... Gen. iiL They are 
allowed summer and winter.. ..seed-time and harvest ; and the 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 369 

beasts of the field are given to them.. ..Gen. viii. 22, and ix. i, 
2, 3 : Yea > it has been God's way abundantly to do good to a 
guilty world.. -to send rain, and grant fruitful seasons, and fill 
the hearts of men with food and gladness.... Acts xiv. 17 : So 
that, considering we are an apostate, guilty world, we may well 
say, with the Psalmist, The earth is full of the goodness of the 
Lord*... Psalm xxxiii. 5 ; and this, notwithstanding all the ca- 
lamities which over-spread the whole earth : for we are now 
to attribute every thing in our circumstances, whereby we are 
better of it than the damned in hell are, to the mere mercv and 
goodness of God, through Jesus Christ : Thus God reprieves 
a guilty world, and grants them food and raiment, to the intent 
that they may have a space for repentance. Surely now it is 
vile, infinitely vile, to despise the riches of his goodness, and for- 
bearance, and long-suffering, and not to take it in and under- 
stand it, that the goodness of God should lead lis to repentance : 
And it is great madness, after our hard and impenitent hearts 
to go on in our rebellion, and treasure up wrath against the day 
cfzvrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.... 
Rom. ii. 4, 5 : And yet this is the general temper, and com- 
mon way of the world. 

(3.) Another common favor granted to mankind, upon 
Christ's account, is, a general resurrection from the dead, (I. 
Cor. xv. 21,) to the intent that all who believe, repent, and re- 
turn to God through Jesus Christ, may be completely happy in 
soul and body forever. It is certain the law threatened death, 
but made no provision for a resurrection : and if the law had 
been executed, and no mediator provided, we have no reason 
to think there ever would have been any resurrection : And I 
cannot see why a general resurrection may not be considered 
under the notion of a mercy in itself, notwithstanding many, 
by their final impenitence, lay a foundation for their being rai- 
sed up to everlasting shame and contusion. I am read}' to think 
that to be raised from the dead must surely be of the nature of 
a mercy, and so be the effect of Christ's merits ; but the partic- 
ular manner in which the wicked shall be raised, may never- 



370 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

theless be considered as a punishment, and so be the effect of 
their sin and final impenitence. Christ's merit lays the foun- 
dation for a general resurrection ; and all who believe and repent 
shall be raised up to glory and complete blessedness ; and all 
who die in their sins shall be raised up to shame and complete 
misery. 

(4.) There are also divers other things granted to mankind 
in general, which seem pretty evidently to be of the nature of 
mercies, and so to be owing to the interposition and merits of 
our glorious Mediator, Christ Jesus, the only Mediator be- 
tween God and a sinful, guilty world — to whose merits and me- 
diation, every thing which mankind enjoy, which is of the na- 
ture of a mercy, is to be attributed ; — divers things, I say, 
whereby much is done towards putting such an apostate race 
of beings into a capacity of comfortably living together in this 
world, while they are in their new state of probation ; — divers 
things in our temper, which seem originally to take their rise 
very much from that temperament of body and animal consti- 
tution which God, our Former, gives us ; — there is a natural 
good humor, a natural compassion, a natural modesty, and nat- 
ural affections : These things, in a greater or less degree, we 
find to be natural to men, and to have a very great influence to 
keep under and restrain their corruptions, and to incline and 
prompt to many actions materially good, and greatly for the 
comfort of human society and benefit of mankind in general : 
These things do evidently keep mankind from abundance of 
wickedness, which otherwise they would commit ; — they have 
a heart for a thousand abominations, but these things restrain 
them : and these things do evidently put mankind on to a thou- 
sand actions materially good, which otherwise they would never 
do : they have a heart bad enough to neglect them, but these 
things excite them to do them. Were it not for these and 
other restraints, I see not why mankind should not be as bad 
in this world, as they will be in the next. Wicked men have 
no wickedness infused into them at death; and therefore they 
have no other nature, no other principle of sin in their hearts, 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 371 

after they are dead, than they had before : but, as soon as they 
are dead, they are evidently no doubt as universally contrary 
to God and all that is good, as the devils themselves* As 
soon as ever those things which now restrain them are all re- 
moved, their true temper appears without any disguise. It is 
no doubt, therefore, a great mercy for mankind to be thus re- 
strained. They enjoy more comfort.... they commit less sin.... 
they merit less punishment.. ..they are under better advantages 
to live together, to enjoy the means of grace and attend to the 
offers of mercy by Jesus Christ, who is the Savior of all men, 
but especially of them that believe..*!. Tim. iv. 10. 

Thus the great God, instead of executing the sentence of the 
law in all its severity upon a guilty world, does, through the 
mediation of Jesus Christ, grant to mankind in general these 
common favors : — They are reprieved from a total ruin — have 
a comfortable maintenance in this world allowed them — a gen- 
eral resurrection is decreed — several natural endowments are 
granted, to restrain from bad actions, and to prompt to actions 
materially good: And hereby the Governor of the world has 
laid the foundation, and prepared the way to go on to use the 
methods he designed, more immediately tending to reclaim 
and recover a sinful, guilty world to himself; for now man- 
kind are put into a sort of capacity of being treated with in 
such a way. 

These things ought deeply to affect mankind. We lie under 
many calamities, and yet enjoy many mercies in this our natu- 
ral state of guilt and condemnation ; all which ought to be im- 
proved to awaken, convince, and humble us, and lead us to re- 
pent, and cry to God for pardoning mercy and sanctifying grace, 
and predispose us cordially to receive and embrace that revela- 
tion, which God has made in his word, of our ruin, and the v. y 
of our recoverv. 

But, through the great blindness and corruption of mankind, 
these things have had a very contrary effect. Mankind, find- 
ing themselves thus reprieved, and thus kindly treated by God, 
have many of them hereby been led to think they are in pretty 



372 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

good standing.... not by nature children of wrath, and under 
condemnation. The devil told Eve they should not surely die ; 
eo, many are now ready to think that the old law, which threat- 
ened the least sin with death, is repealed ; and that we are now 
born into the world free from any guilt : And mankind, find- 
ing themselves endowed with natural modesty, good-humor, 
.compassion, &c. are ready to dream that they are born into the 
world without any sinful corruption of nature, but rather as ho- 
ly as Adam in innocence ; and hence are very insensible 
of any need of such a Redeemer and Sanctifier as are provi- 
ded : And so they are predisposed to dislike that revelation 
which God has made in his word concerning our ruin and the 
way of our recovery : And hence mankind are strongly bent to 
misunderstand, and misinterpret, and disbelieve the law and 
the gospel. And besides, by this goodness and forbearance 
of God, men are emboldened in sin, as if it were not a very 
great evil, nor God very much set against it. They begin to 
think God is all made up of mercy, and that they are in no great 
danger : And so, after their hard and impenitent hearts, they go 
on to treasure up wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation 
of the righteous judgment of God. Thus God and his goodness 
are abused by this vile, wicked race of apostate, rebellious crea- 
tures : And, indeed, all this is no more than was expected : 
great reason, therefore, was there for him so effectually 
to secure his own honor, and the honor of his holy law, 
by the interposition of his own dear Son as Mediator. And 
now, let mankind be ever so bad, he can go on with his meth- 
ods of mercy, to accomplish ail his designs of grace ; and all con- 
sistently with the honor of his holiness andjustice,law and gov- 
ernment, and sacred authority. 

(5.) Mankind being naturally very insensible of their sinful, 
guilty, ruined state — and totally ignorant of, and unable to find 
out, any way of obtaining the divine favor, and wholly averse, 
in the temper of their hearts, to a genuine return to God ; there- 
fore God, of his infinite grace through Jesus Christ, has, in va- 
rious ways, and divers manners, according to the good pleasure 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 373, 

of his will, by immediate revelation from heaven, set before 
mankind their ruin, and the way of their recover}".. ..offered 
many arguments, motives, and encouragements, to persuade 
them to return, and denounced terrible threatenings to deter 
them from going on in their rebellion, and directed them, in the 
use of certain means of grace, to seek for the inward influences 
of the holy spirit, to awaken and convince, to humble and con- 
vert, and effectually recover them to God, through the great 
Mediator. 

(6.) And, because the Most High sees that, through the very 
bad temper of mankind, this external revelation, although 
most excellently adapted thereto, yet, if left to themselves, 
would finally prove altogether ineffectual to recover any of 
mankind ; yea, so very far from it, that mankind would not 
so much as rightly understand or believe it, or seriously take 
matters into consideration, but would misunderstand and per- 
vert it, and finally universally disbelieve and renounce and for- 
get it, and not suffer it to have any room in the world : there- 
fore he has, from the beginning of the world, and does still, and 
will to the end of the world, by the inward influences of his 
spirit, and by the outward dispensations of his providence, 
cany on, according to his sovereign pleasure, the work of his 
grace. ...accomplish his eternal purposes of mercy.. ..recover sin- 
ners to himself... maintain true religion in the world. ...preserve 
his church... gather in all the elect. ..display all his g orious per- 
fections in his dealings with mankind, and get to himself a 
great name in the end; exhibiting in his whole conduct, from 
first to last, the most lively image of himself. 

In these two last particulars we have a general account of 
those methods which God does take with a sinful, guilty race, 
more immediately tending to their recovery, which we may 
see exemplified in his dealings with mankind, from the begin- 
ning. 

1. In the earliest ages of the world, immediately after the 

fall, he began to enter upon these methods of grace : he taught 

our first parents their ruin, aadthe way of their recovery by the 



374 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

promised seed; and instituted sacrifices to typify the great 
atonement, which should afterwards be made for the sins of 
the world.. .. Gen. iii: And what he taught our first parents, 
they taught their children : and hence Cain and Abel, and after- 
generations, learnt to worship God by sacrifice..., Gen. iv. 3 — -8. 
Now Adam lived until Methuselah was two hundred and forty- 
six years old, and Methuselah lived until Shem was an hundred 
years old, and Shem lived until the time of Abraham and Isaac — 
yea, till Isaac was fifty years old; so that the news of Adaiifs 
fall.. .of the ruin of mankind, and of salvation by the seed of 
the woman, might easily have been handed down by tradition 
from one to another, and all mankind might have been fully 
acquainted with these things : And besides these external teach- 
ings and means of grace, God granted the inward influences 
of his spirit, whereby some were effectually recovered to God, 
of whom were Abel, Eiwch, and Noah, who were also signaliz- 
ed by divine Providence. ...Gen. iv. 4. and v. 22. and vi. 9. com- 
pared with Heb. xi. 4 — 7. 

But while God thus early began to use methods for the re- 
covery of a sinful, guilty world to himself, they began early to 
show their aversion to God, and unwillingness to return. Cain 
seems, by the sacrifice which he offered, quite insensible that 
he was a fallen creature, and that he needed an atonement for 
sin. He brought only of the fruit of the ground for a thank- 
offering, (like the Pharisee in Luke xviii. whose prayer consist- 
ed only in thanksgiving, without any faith or repentance) but 
brought none of the flock for a sin-offering, (Gen. iv.) although 
without shedding of blood there could be no remission.. ..Heb. ix. 
22. He was a formal, impenitent hypocrite, nor would God 
accept him ; but Abel found favor in the sight of the Lord by 
faith.. ..Heb. xi. 4 : And therefore Cain was angry at God, and 
enraged at his brother, and murdered him, and cast off all reli- 
gion, and gave himself up to serve his lusts : yea, he forsook 
the visible church of God, and departed, and went into the 
land of Nod. And thus he, and, afterwards, his posterity after 
him, join to renounce true religion, and openly distinguish 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 375 

themselves from God's visible people on earth, ...G<??2. iv. 16. 
And it seems good to the supreme Governor of the world even 
to let them all take their way, and act their own nature. 

For a while true religion was maintained in the family of 
Seth....Gzn, iv. 26 : and to put honor upon the practice there- 
of, Enoch was translated to heaven. ...Gen. v. 24: But yet, in 
process of time, they degenerated and became so much like 
the rest of the world — like the posterity of Cain, that they were 
disposed to relish their company, and marry their daughters.... 
Gen. vi. 2. And then presently the contagion spread — The 
wickedness of mankind in general was great upon the earth, (ver. 
5.) — Allfesh corrupted their ivays, and the earth was filled with 
violence, (ver. 11, 12.) And now the great Governor of the world 
raises up Noah, and makes him a preacher of righteousness ; and 
Noah preaches, and God waits an hundred and twenty years ; 
but mankind will not be reformed, and therefore God gives 
over that generation, and drowns the world by an universal 
deluge. First, Mankind break through all the restraints lv- 
ingupon them.. ..discover the very temper of their hearts. ...pub- 
liclv show their aversion to God, their disregard of his grace, 
their utter unwillingness to return, and their perverse propen- 
sity to go on in their rebellion. Secondlv, God, through the 
'Mediator, uses means to reclaim them, and shows all long- 
suffering, and so tries them. Thirdly, They, remaining ob- 
stinate.. .trampling under foot his authority, and despising his 
goodness, he, at last, in a most public manner, executes righte- 
ous vengeance upon them. He displays his infinite goodness 
and patience in waiting so long, and using so many means for 
their recover}-: he displays his sovereignty in waiting but just 
so long, and in taking but just so much pains with them: he 
displays his holiness, justice, and truth, in bringing that de- 
struction upon them at the very time before threatened : and, 
in the whole, he displays his infinite wisdom — his whole con- 
duct being excellently well calculated to make all succeeding 
generations know that he is the Lord, and suited to maintain 

the honor of his holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. ..ci 

3 A 



ST6 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

law and government, and sacred authority : And thus we see 
what methods God took with the old world, together with the 
result of all. And now, 

2. We come to take a brief view of his ways with mankind 
since the flood, and of their carriage towards him. There is 
no doubt but that Noah had received by tradition and well 
understood the fall of Adam. ..the ruin of mankind.. .the way 
of recovery by the seed of the xvoman... the. institution, end, and 
design of sacrifices : And there is no doubt but that he faith- 
fully instructed his children, in what he himself knew; and 
they might have taught their children, and they the generation 
following, and so all the world might have known the way of 
salvation through a mediator: And it is certain that this would 
have been the case, had mankind been in a disposition suffi- 
ciently to have prised the knowledge of these things : But when 
they knew God, by parental instruction, they did not glorify 
him as God ; neither were they thankful for these advantages 
which infinite goodness had granted them, (Rom. i. 21.) but 
became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was 
darkened: And they soon lost the knowledge of true religion, 
and fell off to idolatry, and changed the glory of the incorrupti- 
ble God into an image made like unto corruptible man, and to 
birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things, (ver. 23.) For 
they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, (ver. 28.) 
And when mankind, presently after the flood, did thus pub- 
licly discover the temper of their hearts, by renouncing the 
true God and true religion, and falling away to idolatry and 
superstition, and all manner of wickedness ; — I say, when man- 
kind, notwithstanding the late awful warning they had had by 
the universal deluge, did thus quickly show themselves so 
entirely disposed to their sinful and rebellious courses — For 
this cause God gave themup,(yzr. 24, 26, 28.) — even suffered 
them to take their own way, and run their own ruin. The 
whole earth might all have been God's people, and his visible 
family, but they would not : they might all l^ave retained the 
knowledge of the true God and of the way t6 life, but they 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 377 

did not like to, and God was not obliged to make them, and 
therefore he even let them take their own course ; and yet took 
care, in after ages, not to leave himself without witness, but, 
by many wonderful works,, to let all the nations of the earth 
know that he was the Lord : And if any would repent and 
return, he made provision for their reception as proselytes into 
the Jewish church : And doubtless here and there one, from 
age to age, by the inward influences of his blessed spirit, were 
brought so to do; and the rest were blinded y as is said in a 
parallel case.. .Rom. xi..7» 

And now the knowledge of the true God, and of true religion, 
must presently have been lost from off the face of the whole 
earth, and never have been recovered, and satan had the most 
full possession of the whole world to the latest posterity, had 
not free and sovereign grace interposed in a most wonderful 
manner, in this dark and awful juncture : But, in this very sea- 
son, God was pleased, of his own mere goodness and sovereign 
pleasure, still through the appointed mediator, by the gracious 
influences of his spirit, and by immediate revelations, and by 
the special dispensations of his providence, to preserve to him- 
self a seed to serve him. He called Abram alone>as it were, 
from the rest of the world, and blessed him; he made further 
revelations to him touching the promised seed, and entered into 
a covenant to be his God, and the God of his children after 
him : And now, a new world of wonders begins to open to our 
view, in the divine dispensations towards Abram and his seed... 
Gen. xii, &c. 

Note — While God was doing these things with Abraham, the 
rest of the world grew wicked apace ; and therefore God 
thought fit to give a specimen of the temper of his heart, and 
let the nations know that he was the Lord, by raining fire and 
brimstone out of heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah, who were 
remarkably wicked; and, at the same time, delivering righteous 
Lot, (Gen. x.) — A dispensation so remarkable, and never th^ 
like before heard of, that no doubt it flew like lightning all the 
world over, and spread terror and surprize through the guilty 



378 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

nations : Howsoever, for all this, they turned not to the Lord* 
-—Well, Abraham is circumcised, with all his household, and 
true religion is taught and maintained in his family, and Isaac 
his son, and Eleazer his servant, seem to have been savingly 
wrought upon by divine grace : And God blesses Abraham, 
and he becomes very great ; and God protects him wherever 
he goes,, to the honor of his great name, in the midst of an 
idolatrous world. Nevertheless, the w r orld, instead of grow- 
ing wiser and better by all this, which doubtless was heard of 
and much wondered at among the nations, they grew worse 
and worse — yea, wickedness appears openly in Abraham's 
family itself. Ishmael discovers a bad spirit; he mocks at 
Isaac... .Gen. xxi. 9: And he that was born after the flesh, per* 
secuted him that was born after the spirit*. .Gal. iv. 29 : So that 
he was, in a sort, excommunicated and cast out of God's visi- 
ble family ; and it is not long before true religion is a thing 
unknown among his numerous posterity : And they who were 
of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, were now num- 
bered with the heathen. Thus, after this sort, it fared with 
Cain, the first persecutor — and thus it fares with Ishmael, for 
the warning of all godless and carnal professors : And yet, from 
age to age, this same temper has appeared, and yet still does 
appear, although, perhaps, this sin, from the beginning of the 
world to this day, has never yet gone unpunished. 

Now, it was said, In Isaac shall thy seed be called: And 
with him God renewed the covenant, and to him the promises 
were repeated, and God blessed him, and he became very 
great ; and he also was under a special divine protection — Yet 
there was a profane Esau in his family, who made so light of 
the spiritual blessings of Abraham, as, for a mere trifle, to sell 
his birth-right : And he afterwards became a persecutor of his 
brother Jacob, and his posterity soon lost the knowledge of the 
true God and of the true religion, and degenerated into a state 
of heathenism. 

Nor can it be attributed to any thing but the free and sove- 
reign grace of God, that Jacob and his seed did not do so too. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 379 

But so it was ; for so it seemed good in the eyes of him, who 
has mercy on -whom he will have mercy, and whose purpose, 
according to election, always stands independent of works.** 
Rom. ix. 1 1 : I say, so it was, through the power of him 
who worketh all things according to the counsel of his own will, 
that when all the other nations of the earth were suffered to 
renounce the true God and the true religion, that in Jacob God 
was known, and his name xvas great in Israel — Never was 
there a nation which discovered a stronger propensity to idola- 
try, and all manner of wickedness, than they: And notwith* 
standing all the mighty restraints, by God laid upon them, they 
were almost perpetually breaking through all, and rushing on 
like the horse into the battle. Neither warnings, nor threaten- 
ings, nor the authority of God, nor the tears of their prophets, 
nor the most terrible judgments, were ever able effectually to 
restrain that people and turn them to God: And had not God 
always, by his special grace, kept a remnant for himself, they 
would have been like Sodom, and like to Gomorrah. ..Isai. i. 2 — 9 
* — Rom. xi. 2 — 7. 

Now the divine perfections were most illustriously display- 
ed, in the divine conduct towards this people, from age to age ; 
and that not only before their faces, but also in the eyes of all 
the nations round about them. Marvellous things were wrought 
in Egypt, and wonders at the Red Sea, and forty years in the 
wilderness, which no doubt did ring through the world, and 
were enough to have made all the earth know that he was the 
Lord, and, but for their perverse stubbornness, to have brought 
them all to worship him, and him only — But all this was so far 
from reclaiming the heathen nations, that it hardly tamed the 
Israelites themselves. They rebelled at Tibcrah, and at Mas- 
sah, and at Kibroth-Hattaavah, and were perpetually provo- 
king the Lord to xu rat h...D cut. ix. When he slew them, thai 
they sought him; and returned and enquired early after God. 
Nevertheless, they did flatter him with their mouth, and lied 
unto him xvith their tongues : For their heart was not right with 
him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant. ..Psal. lxxviii. 



380 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

34 — SYi And many a time were they within a hair's breadth 
of destruction, and would surely have been utterly destroyed, 
but that he wrought for his great name's sake. ..Exod. xxxii. 
— Num. xiv. — Ezek. xx. 

So again, in the days of Joshua, he divided Jordan, and 
drove out the heathen before them, and gave them their land in 
possession, and made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents : Tet 
they afterwards tempted and provoked the most high God, and 
kept not his testimonies, but turned back and dealt unfaithfully like 
their fathers ; they provoked him to anger with their high places, 
and moved him to jealousy with their graven i?nages.:.'Psdlm- 
Ixxviii. 54 — 58 — Judg. ii. 6 — 20. And now, for the space of 
many years, God, by raising up judges, and by sending proph- 
ets, and executing judgments, did labor to reform them ^ but all 
in vain : for they quickly turned aside , like a deceitful bozv : How- 
ever, in the mean while, the goodness and patience of God on 
the one hand, and his holiness and justice on the other, were 
illustriously displayed by his wonderful works in the midst of 
the earth, to be^sounded out among all nations, that all the earth 
might k?iow that he was the Lord. 

In the days of David and Solomon, God wrought for his 
great name's sake, and exalted his people, and made Israel hon- 
orable in the sight of all nations ; yet were they not sincere in 
his sight : and when outward restraints were afterwards taken 
off, they soon discovered the hidden temper of their hearts— 
that they did not care for God or his worship, but liked Dan 
and Bethel as well as the temple of Jerusalem : Thus did the 
ten tribes ; nor was their treacherous sister, Judah, more sin- 
cere. When a good king reigned, they would pretend to be 
good ; and when a bad king reigned, they stood ready for idols : 
And now God sent judgment upon them time after time, and 
sent ail his servants, the prophets, saying, do not this abomi- 
nable thing which my soul hateth : but they would not hearken. 
The L.Qrd God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, 
rising up betimes and sending ; because he had compassion on his 
people, and on his divelling-place : but they mocked the messengers 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 381 

of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until 
the wrath of God arose against his people, till there was no 
remedy : Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chal- 
dees, and gave them all into his hand... .II. Chron. xxxvi. 15, 
16, IT. 

However, God was tenderly touched at the public reproach 
and dishonor to which his great name was exposed, in the eyes 
of insulting nations all around, who clapped their hands, and 
stamped zvith their feet, and rejoiced with ail their heart, for what 
was done to the people called by his name — glorying that their 
God was no better than the dumb idols which they served. — 
Wherefore God raised up the prophet Ezekiel, who clears up 
God's conduct towards his people, in chapters 16th and 18th, 
and on — and dooms the neighboring nations in the name of 
God, declaring what judgment should come upon them from 
the hand of God for their insults, whereby they should 
be made to know that he was the Lord. ...as in the 25th to chap- 
ter 31. And now, also, Daniel and his companions were by 
God raised up, that by them his name might become great in 
the eyes of all nations : And for them he works such deBver- 
ances as to constrain the haughty monarchsofthe earth to issue 
out their decrees through all the world, that none should sj 

thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and 
AbednegOj upon pain of being cut in pieces, and their ho 

fe a dung-hill — and that, in all their dominions, men should 
fear and tremble before the God of Daniel, {Dan. iii. 29, and vi. 
26.) Surely the infinite wisdom of God appears most wonder- 
fully, in all the astonishing methods which he has taken to make 
himself known, and to keep up the honor of his great name 
among such a wicked, God-hating race of beings ! 

And now, all this while, there was nothing but the infinite 
goodness, and free and sovereign grace of God, together with 
his covenant faithfulness, to move him not to cast off and ut- 
terly reject his people, and let them be scattered among the 
heathen, and their name perish from off the earth. It was for 
Ail grc sake that he wrought salvation for them from 



382 T*E B.ELIGI0N DELINEATED, AND 

time to time... .Ezek. xx. When there was no motive in them, 
but every thing to the contrary — then, for his own sake, he un- 
dertook to write his law in their hearts., and put it in their inward 
parts. ...to be their God, and make them his people, and to remem- 
ber their iniquities no more against them, and to bring them back 
to their own land, and plant them, and build them z//>.„.Ezek. 
xxxvi. 16 — 34. 

And however, by the Babylonish captivity, the Jewish peo- 
ple were pretty thoroughly cured of their idolatrous disposition, 
yet, after their return, and after the godly men of that genera- 
tion were dead, they soon began to show that they were as averse 
to God, and the life of religion, as ever : And yet, all these things 
notwithstanding, God is determined to make one trial more* 
He had sent one servant after another, and they had been beat- 
en, and stoned, and put to shame, and sent away empty : Now, 
therefore, he sends his only Son, to see if they will hear him : 
and behold they say, Come, let us kill him. ...Mat. xxi. 33 — 39. 
Wherefore, at last, God determines to cast off that nation, (ver. 
41,) and to go and try the heathen, whom, for a long time, he 
had suffered to take their own ways. 

And now, to his apostles Christ gives commission, to go in* 
to all the earth, and preach the gospel to every creature ; and he 
that believeth, says he, shall be saved; and he that believeth not 
shall be damned : And they run, and preach, and cry, Repent, 
and turn from your dumb idols, to serve the living God. And 
had not they been stopped, they would soon have carried the 
news all round the world : But Jews and Gentiles combine to- 
gether, and earth and hell are in arms to defeat the design ; 
nevertheless, as many as were ordained to eternal life, believed : 
And God carried on his work through a sea of blood, and in 
about three hundred years conquered the Roman empire. 

No sooner is this done, but the mystery of iniquity begins to 
work, and the man of sin to be revealed. The devil and his ser- 
vants turn their ccat, and, under the cloak of religion and good 
order, establish the kingdom of satan in a new form : for it is 
the nature of mankind to hate true religion. And now Ami- 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 383 

ehrist reigns, and scatters the holy people, and wears out the 
saints of the most high, for a time, and times, and half a time. 
In the mean while, the woman flies into the wilderness, the 
xvitnesses prophecy in sackcloth, until, at last, the xvitnesses them- 
iselves are slain : And now religion is driven even just out of 
the world, and there had been no hope, but that God awoke as 
one out of sleep, like a mighty man that shout eth by reason of 
wine. And behold the spirit of life from God enter? into the 
fivo xvitnesses, that is, Luther and Gaivin, and others their 
contemporaries ; and they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell 
upon them xvhich saxv them : And God put them out of their en- 
emies reach: And there was a great earthquake^ and a tenth 
part of the city fell... Rev. ix: And a glorious day began to 
dawn. 

But now, it is not long before many turn heretics and en- 
thusiasts, and the world rises in arms, and, by fire and sword, 
endeavors to demolish the redeemer's kingdom. However, 
God wrought for his great name's sake, and has ever since 
been working, and will go on conquering and to conquer, until 
all the nations of the earth are brought into subjection to his 
son. 

Thus w r e have taken a brief view of the methods which God 
has taken to recover a sinful, guilty world, to himself: The 
external means we have chiefly dwelt upon ; — upon the inter- 
nal, something farther shall be added presently : but let us first 
make a few remarks. 

Rem, 1. Had not mankind been wholly to blame, they might 
all of them, from the beginning, have enjoyed the benefit of 
divine revelation — Nothing secluded them therefrom, but their 
own bad temper and bad conduct : And had not mankind 
been wholly to blame, they might all of them have enjoyed 
the gospel, and had it preached all over the world to this day 
— Nothing has hindered it but their own perverse obstinacy... 
their hating the light, and hating the truth. Strange it is, 
therefore, that some men of learning should be so full of char- 

3 B 



384 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

rity for the heathen, who thus hate God, despise Christ, and 
reject the gospel.* 

Rem. 2. Mankind have manifested the highest degree of 
aversion to God and true religion from the beginning of the 
world, and that almost in all possible ways* Hundreds, and 
thousands, and millions, have they in their rage put to death, 
and diat in the most cruel and barbarous manner — Strange it 
is, therefore, that so many matters of fact have not, to this 
day, convinced mankind that they are truly enemies to God- 
Strange that they can have the face to make the old pretence, 
and say, If xve had been in the days of our fathers, we zvould 
not have been partakers rvith them in the blood cf the prophets. .„ 
Mat. xxiii. 30 — when all the time, from age to age, they have 
been acting over the old scene. 

Rem. 3. It has been owing wholly and entirely to the free 
grace and almighty power of God, that the church has been 
preserved, and true religion not driven quite out of the world: 
It is one of the greatest miracles that ever was wrought. 

Rem. 4. God has always acted sovereignly in choosing what 
family, nation, or nations, he would preserve true religion 
among ; all being by nature equally averse to God, and equally 
unworthy : and has always acted justly in giving over other 
families and nations for their sin and apostacy. 

Rem. 5. The whole scheme of the divine conduct has been 
most excellently calculated to display all the divine perfections 
to the best advantage; and it does exhibit to us the very image 
of his heart in strong and lively colors. But to proceed, 

* But perhaps some will be ready to say, that there may tie many honest 
persons among the heathen, who never heard of' the gospel, and never rejected 
it, who may stand fair for heaven. 

Axs. There is a number of such honest sort of persons among Chris- 
tians, but their natural enmity to God and Christ.and gospel-grace is found 
to be as great as others ; and sometimes publicans and harlots enter into 
heaven before them — Surely none of them more honest than the young 
man in the gospel, nor ever arrived to greater attainments ; and therefore 
all of them might do as he did, if under the same circumstances. That 
natural kind of honesty, manv times, is an occasion of men's being har- 
dened against Christianity; for they are very ready to say, God, J thank 
thee, I am not as other ?>.v,v...like him in Luke xviii. Doubtless these honest 
heathen would do as their fathers did, had they the opportunity : So the 
honest jfevs did.... See Mat. xxiii. 28 — 33. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 385 

Although the external means of grace, and remarkable dis- 
pensations of Providence, perhaps may,jn a measure, some- 
times restrain mankind, and bring them to a feigned submis- 
sion to God and his laws ; yet, such is their rooted enmity and 
entire aversion to God and true religion, that not one will 
hereby be brought to repent and sincerely turn to God....Psal. 
lxxviii. 34 — 37. and lxxxi. 8 — 12....Isai. v. 1 — 7. Nothing 
short of those inward influences of the spirit, w T hich are al- 
mighty and all-conquering, will effectually attain the end.... 
Mat. xi. 20 — 27....Eph. i. 19: And therefore, besides the 
external means of grace, God has, as it were, taken a world 
of pains with one and another of mankind by the inward influ- 
ences of his Spirit, The external means, indeed, which have 
been used, are mere open to observation ; and so also is that 
external opposition which mankind have made: but. the same 
ends which God has been pursuing by the external means, viz. 
to convince mankind of their sinful, guilty, ruined state, and 
bring them to return to God through a mediator — the same has 
he been pursuing, by the inward influences of his spirit ; — and 
the same opposition which has openly appeared against the 
means of grace, has also secretly wrought mightily in the hearts 
of men against the inward influences of the spirit. Mankind 
are as much inclined to resist the spirit, as they are the wcrd 
of God, and that for the same reason and from the same tem- 
per ; because both aim at the same thing — a thing most con- 
trary to their corruptions. 

Perhaps there are some whom God never vouchsafes at all to 
strive with by his spirit ; and these are ready to think there is 
no such thing. Others are a little awakened, and, from self- 
love, the fears of hell, and the hopes of heaven, they reform 
their lives a little, and set about some external duties, and so 
think to make amends for their past sins, and recommend them- 
selves to the divine favor ; but are as great enemies as ever to 
the power of religion : and here God leaves them to perish. 
Others are carried farther, and become more strict and painful, 
but still from the same principles : and there they are left to 



385 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

perish. Not one takes one step in earnest, unless he is driven 
to it ; nor goes one step farther than he is driven : and there- 
fore God leaves one here, and another there, as seems good in 
his sight. They do not like to retain God in their knowledge, 
and therefore he gives them over to a reprobate mind, as those 
spoken of in Rom. i. 28. Some, indeed, are carried very far by 
the common influences of the holy spirit; they are enlightened, 
•.Jhey taste of the heave?ily gift, and of the powers of the world 
to come, and are made partakers of the holy ghost; and yet, after 
all,jfa// axvay and perish.. ..Heb. vi. They have a great sense 
of their sinful, guilty, undone state.. ..of the wrath of God, 
and dreadfulness of damnation, and are mightily brought 
down ; and then have a great sense of the mercy of God, the 
dying love of Christ, and the glory of heaven : and they 
think they are converted, and they are ravished w^ith the 
thought. However, in the end, all is turned to feed their pride 
and their presumption, and to harden and embolden them in 
sin — They are not so much afraid of sin now, because they 
are confident they shall never go to hell : And many times this 
sort of people, through the great swelling of spiritual pride, 
and the immediate influences of Satan, come to have strange 
experiences... .turn to be strange creatures.. ..broach strange 
errors, and seem to be nearly forsaken by God, reason, and 
conscience : and yet, (yea, and by the same means) get to be 
the holiest creatures in the world, by their own account. But 
while the sinners, with whom the holy spirit strives, do many 
of them turn out after this sort, some in one way and some in 
another, there are others with whom God makes thorough 
work; that is, makes them thoroughly understand and feel 
their sinful, guilty, helpless, undone state, and see into and 
believe the gospel way of salvation, through Jesus Christ, and 
return home to God in that way : And now they are kept by 
the power of God through faith unto salvation. ...I. Pet. i. 5. 
And here God has mercy on whom he will have mercy — raid 
even so it has been as to the external means of grace from the 
beginning of the world. With some, God has taken more 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 387 

pains and longer ; and with others, less pains and shorter : but 
when all the rest of the world degenerated to heathenism, God 
took effectual methods with the Israelites to keep them from 
doing so too : And thus, in a resembling manner, he does 
with all the spiritual seed of Abraham — with his elect : where- 
by, in spite of all opposition, they are brought to glory at last : 
they are fed with manna every day ; the pillar of cloud by day, 
and offre by night, is their continual guide ; and the rock 
which follows them is Christ ; i. e. they are fed and are guid- 
ed.. .they live and are refreshed, and are helped to hold on their 
way, by continual influences from on high, by constant com- 
munications of divine grace : And so the path of the just is like 
the shining light, which shines more and more to the perfect day* 

Remarks. Never is any poor sinner under the light of the 
gospel passed by, without being awakened by the Holy Spirit ; 
but God sees he is deaf to the voice of his word, and hates to 
be awakened, and loves to go on secure. Never is any awak- 
ened sinner forsaken by the spirit of God, and left to take his 
own way, and run his own ruin, but that first he resisted and 
grieved the Holy Spirit, and stifled conviction, and rent away, 
as it were, out of God's hands : And never is a poor sinner 
savingly brought home to God and trained up for heaven, but 
that, from first to last, it was absolutely and entirely owing to 
the infinite goodness, free grace, and almighty power of God : 
And, indeed, thus will it appear at the great day of judgment, 
that all who perish are wholly to blame, and all that are saved 
will have none to glory in but the Lord. But I have elsewhere 
so much insisted upon the nature of the influences of the Holy 
Spirit, that I must not here enlarge. 

Thus the way to life is opened by Christ Jesus, and all are 
invited to return and be saved : And thus we see the methods 
which God takes for the recovery of a sinful, guilty world — 
And from all that has been said we may draw these inferenc 

1. It is undoubtedly the duty of poor sinners to be dt 
affected with all these wonderful methods of divine grace, and 
to strive and labor with the greatest painful ness and dilrgenct 



38S TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

to fall in with the design of the gospel.. ..to be sensible of their 
sinful, guilty, undone state, and to look to the free grace of 
God, through Jesus Christ, for relief, and to repent and return 
to God through him: Luke xiii. 24.. .Strive to enter in at the 
srait gate. Some are of the opinion, that because the very best 
that sinners can do, while enemies to God in their hearts, is, 
as to the manner of it, sinful and odious in the eyes of the 
divine holiness, that therefore their best way is to do nothing, 
but to sit still and wait for the spirit ; but nothing is more con- 
trary to scripture or reason : The scripture says, Strive t& 
enter: And reason teaches, that when the God of Heaven, 
the great Governor of the world, is thus coming out after guilty 
rebels in a way of mercy, it becomes them to be deeply affected 
thereat, and to exert all their rational powers in opposition to 
their sloth and corruptions... laboring to lie open to the means 
of conviction.. .avoiding every thing that tends to promote 
security, and to render ineffectual the methods of divine grace, 
and practising every thing that tends to their farther awaken- 
ing. And O, let this be remembered, that it is sinners' resist- 
ing the methods of grace, which causes God to give them over.: 
Psal. lxxxi, 11, 12, IS. ..Bat my people would not hearken to my 
voice : and Israel zuould none of me* So I gave them up to their 
own hearts' lust : and they walked in their own counsels. that my 
people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! 
2. From what has been said, we may learn that it is mad- 
ness and folly for poor sinners to use the means of grace under 
a notion of doing their zvhole duty, and so pacify their con- 
sciences. The means of grace are designed in the first place to 
convince sinners of their sinful, guilty, ruined state : and for 
them to forget, totally forget, this their end, and to go about 
to attend upon them under a notion of doing that duty which 
they owe to God, as something in lieu of that perfect obedi- 
ence which the law requires, is quite to lose the benefit of the 
means of grace — yea, to thwart their very design — and tends 
to keep men from conviction and conversion, and seal them 
down in spiritual security. That which God directs them ta 



DISTINGUISHED PROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 339 

do, to the end their consciences might be more awakened, they 
do, that their consciences might be more quieted. The means 
which were appointed to make them more sensible of their 
need of Christ and grace ; they use to make themselves the 
more insensible thereof. 

3. Sinners are not to use the means of grace under a notion 
of making amends for their past sins, and recommending 
themselves to God, (Rom. x. 3.) — nor under a notion that by 
their strongest efforts they shall be ever able to renew their own 
nature, (Eph. ii. 1.) — nor under a notion they can do any thing 
at all to prevail with God to renew them, (Rom. xi. 35. 36.) 
But, on the contrary, in the use of the means of grace, t: 
are to seek for and labor after a thorough conviction, that they 
can neither make anv amends for their past sins, nor in the 
least reco::. themselves to God — that they cannot renew 

their own nature, nor in the least move God to show them this 
mercy.. .to the intent, that being thus convinced of their ruin- 
ed, helpless state, they may be prepared to look to the free 
and sovereign grace of God, through Christ, for ail 

igs ; which is the very thing that the gospel aims at, (Rom. 
iii. 9 — 26.) and which the means of grace are designed to pro- 
mote, and bring them to ; and to which the spirit of God, by 
his inward influences, does, in the use of means, finally bring 
all who are saved.... Rom. vii. 8, 9. ...Gal. iii. 24. 

For sinners to use the means of grace, under the other no- 
lions aforesaid, is practically to say, u We are not fallen, sinful, 
M guilty, helpless., undone creatures ; nor do we need the re- 
u deemer or the sanctifier which God has provided ; nor do 
4 ' we lie at his mercy, or intend to be beholden to his mere 
u sovereign grace. If we have sinned, we can make amend* 
u for it: if we have displeased God, we can pacify him again : 
" if we are wicked, we can become good : or, if we do as well 
tt as we can, and dien want any further help, God is obliged 
" to help us/' 

If, therefore, sinners would take the wisest course to be the 
better for the vise of the means of grace, they must try to fail 



390 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

in with God's design, and with the spirit's influences, and labor 
to see and feel their sinful, guilty, condemned, helpless, undone 
state. For this end, they must forsake vain company.... leave 
their quarrelling and content! on.... drop their inordinate world- 
ly pursuits, and abandon every thing which tends to keep them 
secure in sin, and quench the motions of the spirit ; and for 
this end must they read, hear, meditate, and pray... compare 
themselves with God's holy law.... try to view themselves in the 
same light that God does, and pass the same judgment upon 
themselves ; that so they may be in a way to approve of the 
law, and to admire the grace of the gospel — to judge and con- 
demn themselves, and humbly to apply to the free grace of God, 
through Jesus Christ, for all things, and through him to return 
to God. 

Thus we have gone through what was proposed under this 
third general 'head : We have considered the necessity there 
was of satisfaction for sin, and of a perfect righteousness : We 
have considered what satisfaction for sin has been made, and 
what righteousness wrought out, and wherein their sufficiency 
consists : We have considered how the way of life has been 
opened by the means ; and we have considered what methods 
God has actually entered upon for the recovery of lost sinners 
to himself. And thus, now, upon the whole, we see upon 
what grounds the great Governor of the world considered 
mankind as being in a perishing condition, and whence his de- 
signs of mercy originally took their rise, and what necessity 
there was for a Mediator and Redeemer, and how the way to 
life has been opened by him whom God has provided : and so 
may now pass to the next thing proposed. 

SECTION VII. 
SHOWING THE NATURE OF A GENUINE COMPLIANCE WITH 

THE GOSPEL. 

IV. To show the true nature of a saving faith in Christ.—* 
And because, by the whole, I am to explain the nature of the 
gospel, and of a genuine compliance therewith, therefore I 
will begin with a more general view of things, and afterwards 
proceed to a more distinct survey of faith in particular. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 391 

Now, a genuine compliance with the gospel, in general, 
consists in a spiritual and divine sight and sense of the great 
truths therein presupposed and revealed... and in a firm belief 
of those truths, and an answerable frame of heart ; — as is evi- 
dent from II. Cor. iv. 3, 4, 5—1. Thes. ii. 13 — Mat. xiii. 23 — 
John viii. 32. 

It is divine light, imparted by the spirit of God to the soul, 
which lays the foundation of z\\....Mat. xi. 25— Gal. i. 16 — II. 
Cor. iii. 18. This spiritual and divine light, according to the 
language of St. Paul, shines in the heart, and consists in the 
knowledge of glory..,. II. Cor. iv. 6 ; that is, in a sense of 
moral beauty — a sense of that beauty there is in the moral 
perfections of God, and in all spiritual and divine things.... 
that holy beauty which is peculiar to spiritual, and divine, 
and holy things ; of which every unholy heart is perfectly in- 
sensible....!. John i. 3, 6. And by it, things are made to ap- 
pear to us, in a measure, as they do to God himself, and to the 
angels and saints in heaven : And so, by it, we are made to 
change our minds, and are brought to be of God's mind con- 
cerning things : And so we are hereby disposed to understand, 
believe, entertain, and embrace the gospel.. ..John viii. 47. 

God, the great Governor of the world, who sees all things 
as being what they are, does, in the gospel, consider mankind 
as perishing — as fallen, sinful, guilty, justly condemned, help- 
less, and undone. He looks upon the original constitution 
with Adam as holy, just, and good ; and that, by and according 
to that constitution, he might have damned the whole human 
race, consistently with his goodness, and to the honor of hi* 
holiness and justice : He looks upon the law of nature as holy, 
just, and good ; and that, by and according to that, he might 
damn a guiltv world, consistently with his goodness, and to the 
honor of his holiness and justice. Now, by this divine light, 
we are brought to look upon things as God does, and to have 
an answerable frame of heart. 

Again — God, the great Governor of the world, who sees all 
fching* as being what they are, does, in the gospel, consider a 






392 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

guilty world as lying at his mercy. He saw that he was under 
no obligations to pity them in the least, or in the least to miti- 
gate their punishment — much less under any obligations to 
give his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him 
should not perish, but have everlasting life — and still much less 
under any obligations, by his holy spirit, to subdue and recover 
such obstinate rebels, who hate him and his Son.. ..his law and 
his gospel, and are perfectly averse to a return. He saw a 
guilty world lie at his mercy, and that he was at liberty to have 
mercy or not to have mercy, according to his sovereign pleas- 
ure ; and that it was fit, and becoming his glorious Majesty, 
to act as a sovereign in .this affair. And now, by this divine 
light, we are brought to look upon things as God does, and to 
have an answerable frame of heart. 

Again— God, the great Governor of the world, who sees all 
things as being what they are, at the same time that he designs 
mercy for a guilty world, does consider a Mediator as being- 
necessary to answer the demands of the broken law, and secure 
the divine honor. In such a perishing condition he sees man- 
kind — so guilty.... so justly condemned, that it would be incon- 
sistent with the divine perfections, and contrary to all good 
rules of government, to pardon and save such wicked, hell-de- 
serving rebels, without some proper atonement for their sin, 
and suitable honor done to his law : But the honor of his holi- 
ness and justice...law and government, is sacred in his eyes, 
and of infinite importance, and must be maintained : better 
the whole world be damned than they in the least be sullied : 
And now, by this divine light, we are brought to look upon 
things as God does, and to have an answerable frame of heart. 

Moreover, God, the great Governor of the world, who sees : 
all things as being what they are, views his only begotten Son 
as a meet person for a mediator, and himself as having suffi- 
cient power to authorize him to the work. Of his sovereign, 
self-moving goodness, he, in his infinite wisdom, contrives the 
whole scheme. ..lays the whole plan, and puts his design in ex- 
ecution — the door of mercy is opened.. .the news of pardon and 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 393 

peace is sent through a guilty world, and all are invited to re- 
turn home to God through Jesus Christ : and God looks upon 
this way of salvation as being glorious for God, and safe for 
the poor sinner ; And now, by this divine light, we are brought 
rightly to understand these things, and look upon them as God 
does, and believe them, and to have an answerable frame of 
heart. 

Lastly, God, the great Governor of the world, does, in the 
gospel, consider our return unto him through Jesus Christ, not 
only as a duty to which we are under infinite obligations, but 
also as a privilege of infinite value ; and, in this view of the 
case, he commands and invites us to return : And now, by this 
divine light we are brought to look upon this also as God does, 
and to judge it the fittest and happiest thing in the world to 
return unto him through Jesus Christ, and to have an answer- 
able frame of heart : For, 

By this light we come to have a right view of the most high 
God.. .to see him, in a measure, as the saints and angels in 
heaven do... to see him in his infinite greatness and majesty, 
and in the infinite glory and beauty of his nature : And hence 
we are made sensible that he is infinitely worthy of the high- 
est esteem. ..reverence. ..love. ..delight, and of universal obedi- 
ence : And hence we see, that we, in particular, are under in- 
finite obligations to love him with all our hearts, and obey him 
in every thing; and that to do so is the happiest thing m die 
world ; that not to do so, is infinitely wrong, and deserves an 
infinite punishment: And thus we see the grounds of the law 
of nature. ..the reasons from whence it results, and, with all our 
hearts, consent to it, and approve of it as holy, just, and good : 
And this naturally lays the foundation for us rightly to under- 
stand, and heartily to approve of the original constitution with 
' Adam: And while we behold God in his infinite glory, and 
view the law as holy, just, and good, and see our infinite obli- 
gations perfectly to conform unto it — now our universal depra- 
vity and infinite ill desert appear in a clear and divine light: 
Hence it appears we lie at mercy, and that it is fit he should 



394 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

have mercy on whom he will... that it becomes the Majesty of 
heaven to act as a sovereign in this affair : And it appears that 
there is no motive in us to excite his compassions, but infinite- 
ly to the contrary : and hence the heart is prepared to discern 
the freeness of divine grace, and to perceive that the goodness 
of the divine nature must be self-moving ; and also to under- 
stand the need there is of a mediator to secure the divine ho- 
nor : for creatures so bad appear too vile to be relieved, unless 
justice may first be satisfied ; it is contrary to law, and contra- 
ry to reason, that they should* And while we view these 
things, and have a divine sense of them on our hearts, we are 
hereby prepared to understand the way of salvation by free 
grace through Jesus Christ, as revealed in the gospel : And 
now a sense of the glorious freeness of divine grace*. ..the ex- 
cellence and sufficiency of Christ, and the readiness of God 
to be reconciled to returning sinners through him, lays the 
foundation for faith and hope.* And all this while there is 
secretly enkindling in the heart a most genuine disposition to 
return home to God.*. .to love him and live to him, arising 
from a sense of the ineffable glory and beauty of the divine na- 
ture : for he appears glorious in holiness, justice, goodness, and 
grace ; and glorious in his sovereignty and in his majesty, as 
supreme Lord and high Governor of the whole world. Upon 
the whole, with utmost solemnity, as being in ourselves infinite- 
ly unfit for the divine favor, we venture our eternal all upon 
Jesus Christ as Mediator, relying on his worth and merits, and 
trusting to the mere free mercy of God through him, for par- 

* All these things (although it takes considerable time to express them 
in order) may, for substance, instantly open to view, and the soul imme- 
diately acquiesce in the gospel-scheme and close with Christ; — instantly, I 
say, upon divine light's being imparted to the soul: But the mind, in 
that solemn and awful hour, may especially fix only upon some particu- 
lars ; and so a remembrance of these may remain, while other particulars, 
which were then in view, cannot afterwards be recollected. Hence, some 
may doubt whether their fitfa act of faith was right. The best way to 
remove such fears, is to live in the exercise of faith every day ; for when 
these views, and a consciousness of them, become habitual, our scruples 
will cease of course. The special nature of our faith may be learnt from 
the after acts, as well as by the^m act; for the after acts will be of the 
Same nature with the frst, let our faith be true or false. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 395 

don, and grace, and glory ; and hence are encouraged and em- 
boldened, with our whole hearts, to return home to God through 
him, and give up ourselves to God forever, to love him and 
live to him, and live upon him forever, lamenting that ever we 
sinned against him, resolving to cleave to him with all our 
hearts, and never, never to depart from h\m....Heb. iv. 16, and 
x. 19 — 22 — Eph. ii. 18 — John xiv. 6 — Rom. iii. 24, 25, 26. 
And thus, by this divine light, imparted by the spirit of God, 
is the soul finally brought to unite to Christ by faith, and to re- 
turn home to God through him. John vi. 44, 45... .No man 
can come to me, except the Father dreav him : They shall he edl 
taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath heard and learn- 
ed of the Father, comet h unto me. And from what has been 
said concerning the nature of the gospel, it is self-evident that 
herein consists a genuine compliance therewith : For all this 
is onlv to see things as being what they are, and to be affected 
and act accordingly. 

Remark 1. This is peculiar to a genuine compliance with 
the gospel, and that whereby it is specifically different from all 
counterfeits, namely — its being founded in, and resulting from 
this divine light ; whereby we are brought, not merely in spec- 
ulation, but in heart, to look upon things as God does. He 
sees all things as they are ; and therefore when any poor sinner 
is brought to a right view of things, i. e. to see them as they err, 
he must, by consequence, look upon them as God docs. Now, 
all others being blind and ignorant in scripture-account, hence 
this true sight and sense of things is very peculiar and distin- 
guishing : And hence we may observe that it is mentioned as 
being peculiar to the good-ground-hearers, in Mat. xiii. 25.... 
That they heard the word, and understood it. And Christ 
intimates that none but his true disciples know the truti\... 
John viii. 31, 32 : And die gospel isaguin and again said to be 
hid from all others.... Mat. xi. 25 — II. Cor. iv. 3: And they 
only have it revealed unto them.*.. Mat. xi. 25 : They only 
have the vail taken off from their hearts. ...II. Cor. ii:. 14 — 17 : 
And they only behold with open t ace. ...vcr. 18. 



396 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

2. This spiritual and divine light lays the foundation for a 
new kind of belief of the gospel. A sight of the divine beauty 
and glory of the gospel-scheme, convinces and assures the heart 
that it is divine, and indeed from God, and not a cunningly de- 
vised fable. This is an evidence peculiar to the regenerate, 
and, of all others, it is unspeakably the most satisfactory. — (See 
this largely explained and proved in Mr. Edwards treatise on 
religious affecions, p. 182,199.) 

3. Regeneration, faith, repentance, and conversion, are, in 
their own nature, connected together, and so they are in this 
representation. In regeneration we receive this divine light.. .• 
this new spiritual sense of things. Our eyes are opened, and 
we are brought out of darkness into this marvellous light ; and 
so come to have a right view of God... .of ourselves... .of Christ 
••..and of the gospel-way of salvation by free grace through him. 
This spiritual illumination lays the foundation for faith, repent- 
ance, and conversion : It discovers the grounds of faith, of re- 
pentance, and conversion ; and we believe, we repent, and con- 
vert. Repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lordfe- 
sus Christy always go together.... Acts xx. 21 : and the gospel 
calls sinners to repent, and be converted, as w r ell as to believe in 
Christ.. ..Acts iii. 19. Those, therefore, who seem to have 
much light, and faith, and joy, but have no repentance, nor do 
turn to God with all their hearts, are deluded. 

4. Spiritual light and true faith are always in proportion. 
A spiritual sense of God... .of ourselves. ...of Christ, and of the 
gospel way of salvation by free grace through him, lays the 
foundation for faith ; and faith naturally results therefrom — as 
has been observed, and as is evident from John vi. 45 : and 
therefore, from the nature of the case, they must be in equal 
degree in the heart : And therefore, those who pretend to live 
by faith, when they are spiritually blind and dead, do but de- 
ceive themselves. Nor is what they plead from Isai. 1. x. at 
all to the purpose : Who is among you that fear eth the Lord., .that 
obeyeth the voice of his servant. ..that walketh in darkness, and hath 
no light f Let him trust in the Lord, and stay upon his God. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 397 

Because, 1. The persons here spoken of were not spiritually 
blind and dead, but had a spiritual sense of God and divine 
things on their hearts ; for they feared the Lord, and obeyed his 
voice ; so that they lived in the exercise of grace, and walked 
in the ways of holiness, which, without spiritual light, had been 
impossible. And, 2. What they were in the dark about, was, 
how, or by what means, the children of Israel should ever be 
brought out of the Babylonish captivity, back again to Zion : 
which they knew God had promised, but they could see no 
way wherein it could be brought about. In this respect they 
walked in darkness, and could see no light, and therefore they 
are exhorted to put their trust in the Lord, whose wisdom, pow- 
er, and faithfulness are infinite. This is evidently the mean- 
ing of the words, as is manifest from the scope and tenor of the 
prophet's discourse through all the ten preceding chapters, 
which was calculated for the support and comfort of the godly 
in the Babylonish captivity, by assuring them of a return.* — 
Nor is what is said about Abraham, that against hope he believed 
in hope... .nor what is said by St. Paul — We walk by faith, and 
not by sight, any thing to their purpose ; unless they suppose 
that Abraham and Paul, and the primitive christians in general, 
were as dead, and blind, and carnal, as themselves. The 
truth is, that this blind faith is the very thing which the Apostle 
ya?nes calls a dead faith. 

5. Evangelical humiliation and true faith are likewise always 
in proportion. Evangelical humiliation consists in a sense of 
our own sinfulness, vileness, odiousness, and ill-desert, and 
in a disposition, thence resulting, to lie down in the dust full of 

* The three first verses of the next chapter, (hai. \\. 1, 2, 3) do, I 
think, coniirm the above interpretation of Isai. t. 10 — although, I 
doubt not, the prophet's discourse, through the abovesaid ten chapters, has 
a farther look to the Messiah's kingdom, and our redemption out of mys- 
tical Babylon : But let the words be cunsidered in either view, or only con- 
sidered in themselves absolutely, it is plain thev nevei wen d to 
comfort stony -ground hearers, when their religion is all worn out, and tin y 
become dead, blind, and carnal, and so full of doubts and fe; 
they mean to embolden sueh M firmly to believe the) arc in a good s 
M though ever so much in the dark, i. e. though the) see no grace in their 
M hearts, nor signs of any:" For the words are directed only to ihose-u/6# 
fear the Lord, and obey the vol it of his servant. 



398 ; TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

self-loathing and self-abhorrence, abased before the Lord, really 
accounting ourselves infinitely too bad ever to venture to come 
into the divine presence in our own names, or to have a thought 
of mercy from God on the account of our own goodness : And 
it is this which makes us sensible of our need of a mediator, 
and makes us desire to be found, not in ourselves, but in Christ — 
not having on our own righteousness, but his : No farther, 
therefore, than these views and this temper prevail in us, shall 
we truly discern any need of Christ, or be heartily inclined to 
have any respect to him as a mediator between God and us : 
There can, therefore, be no more of true faith in exercise, 
than there is of this true humility. When men, therefore, 
appear righteous in their own eyes, and look upon themselves 
as deserving well at the hands of God, on the account of their 
own goodness, they can feel no need of a mediator, nor at 
heart have any respect to Christ, under that character.... Luke 
v. 31. This condemns the faith of the self-righteous formalist, 
who depends upon his being conscientious in his ways, and 
upon his sincerely endeavoring to do as well as he can, to re- 
commend him to God: And this condemns, also, the faith of 
the proud enthusiast, who appears so good in his own eyes... so 
far from a legal spirit.. .so purely evangelical. ..so full of light 
and knowledge, humility and love, zeal and devotion, as that, 
from a sense of his own goodness, and how greatly beloved 
he is in the sight of God, he is encouraged and elevated, and 
feels greatly emboldened to come into the presence of God, and 
draw near, and come even to his seat, and use familiarity and 
boldness with God, as though he was almost an equal. Such 
are so far from any true sense of their need of Christ, as that 
they rather feel more fit to be mediators and intercessors in be- 
half of others, than to want one for themselves : And it is the way 
of such, from that great sense they have of their own goodness, 
to make bold with God, and to make bold with Christ, in their 
prayers, as if they felt themselves pretty nigh upon a level. 
Of all men in the world, I am ready to think that God looks 
upon these the worst, and hates them the most.... (Luke xviii. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 399 

9 — 14 — Isai. lxv. 5.) But did they know it, they would hate 
him as entirely as he does them. Hypocrites of all sorts fail 
in this point : they see no real need of Christ — they are not so 
bad but that, to their own sense and feeling, they might be par- 
doned and saved by the free mercy of God, without any media- 
tor : Hence they do not understand the gospel ; it is all fool- 
ishness to them. ...I. Cor. ii. 14. 

6. It is a spiritual sense and firm belief of the truths of the 
gospel which encourages the heart to trust in Christ.... John 
vi. 45. That the goodness of God is infinite, and self-moving 
— that Christ, as Mediator, has secured the honor of God, the 
moral Governor of the world, and opened a way for the free 
and honorable exercise of his grace — that through Christ, God, 
the supreme Governor of the world, is actually ready to be re- 
conciled, and invites all, the vilest not excepted, to return to 
him in this way : — These truths, being spiritually understood 
and firmly believed, convince the heart of the safety of trust- 
ing in Christ, and encourage it so to &o.*..Heb. x. 19.. ..Mat* 
xxiu 4. 

7. Saving faith consists in that entire trust, reliance, or de- 
pendance on Jesus Christ, the great Mediator, his satisfaction 
and merits, mediation and intercession, which the humbled 
sinner has, whereby he is emboldened to return home to God 
in hopes of acceptance, and is encouraged to look to and trust 
in God through him for that complete salvation which is offer- 
ed in the gospel. The opposite to justifying faith, is a self- 
righteous spirit and temper, whereby a man, from a conceit of, 
and reliance upon his own goodness, is emboldened and encour- 
aged to trust and hope in the mercy of God.... HJ>. x. 19, 23 
— Lake xviii. 9 — 14 ; and accordingly, when such see how bad 
they really are, their faith fails — they naturally think that God 
cannot find in his heart to show mercy to such. 

8. Faith emboldens the heart. In a legal humiliation, which 

is antecedent to spiritual light, the sinner is brought to a kind 

of despair : The things which used to embolden him, do now 

entirely fail : he finds no good in himself — yea, he feels him- 

3 D 



400 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

self dead in sin ; and upon this his heart dies within him. I 
was alive without the law once ; but when the commandment 
came, sin revived, and I died.... Rom. vii. 9 : And by spiritual 
light, in evangelical humiliation, his undone state, in and of 
himself, is made still more plain. But now faith emboldens 
the heart.. ..begets new courage.... lays the foundation for a new 
kind of hope — a hope springing entirely from a new founda- 
tion, Heb. x. 19, 22. ..Having, therefore, brethren, boldness to 
enter into the holiest, by the blood of Jesus, let us draw near with a 
true heart, in full assurance of faith. By faith the heart is em- 
boldened — 1 . To return home to God, in hopes of acceptance. A 
spiritual sight andsenseof the ineffable beauty of the divine na- 
ture begets a disposition to look upon it the fittest and happiest 
thing in the world to love God with all the heart, and be entirely 
devoted to him forever ; and enkindles an inclination to return, 
and everlastingly give up and consecrate ourselves unto him. 
" But may such .a wretch as I be the Lord's ? Will he accept 
me ?" Now the believer, understanding the way of acceptance 
by Christ, and seeing the safety of it, ventures his all upon 
this sure foundation, and hereby is emboldened to return. 
Heb. xi. 6.. ..He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and 
that he is a retvarder of them that diligently seek him ; i. e. 
first — He must see what God is.. ..behold him in his glory, or 
he cannot, in a genuine manner, desire to come to him : and 
secondly — He must see that he is ready to be reconciled unto 
and to save those, who, from a genuine desire to be his, do 
heartily return to him through the Mediator he has appointed ; 
or else he will not dare to come : But when both these are 
seen and believed, now the soul will return, and come and ^ : ve 
up itself to God, to be the Lord's forever. 2. Faith in Christ 
emboldens the heart to look to and trust in the free grace of 
God through him, for all things that just such a poor creature 
wants — even for all things offered in the gospel to poor sinners. 
Heb. iv. !B.i:Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of 
grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace. Pardoning 
mercy and sanctifying grace are the two great benefits of the 



DISTINGUISHED PROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 401 

new covenant ; and these are the two great things which an en- 
lightened soul feels the want of, and for which he is embolden- 
ed to come to God by Jesus Christ : / will be to them a God, 
and they shall be to me a people, saith the Lord in the new cov- 
enant ; and this is all my salvation, and all my desire, saith the 
believer. 

9. The word faith, in scripture, is evidently used in various 
senses : Or thus, there are various different exercises of a god- 
ly soul, all which in scripture are called faith — for I mean here 
to leave out all those sorts of faith spoken of in scripture, which 
the unregenerate man is capable of: — 1. It is the way of godly 
men to live under a spiritual sense of God, his being and per- 
fections, and government of the world, and the glory, reality, 
and importance of divine and eternal things — even under such 
a living sense of these things, as that they are firmly believed^ 
and are made to influence them as though they were seen : 
Hence they are said to look at things xuhich are unseen.. ..\\. 
Cor. iv. 18 — To see him who is invisible, ...Heb. xi. 27 — And 
are said to walk by faith... .II. Cor. v. 7: And this seems to be 
the meaning of the word faith, as it is used in Heb. xi. where 
we read of what Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, 
and Moses, did by faith. Their faith was the substance of 
things hoped for, and evidence of things not seen ; i. e. it made 
divine and eternal things, as it were, subsist, in all their glory 
and importance, before their minds, and appear as evident as 
though they were seen, (ver. 1.) — 2. It is the way of godly 
men to live under a spiritual sense of the divine all-sufficiency, 
whereby they are \n?.uzYiczd firmly to believe that God is able to 
do all things for them, and be all to them, which they can pos- 
sibly need in time and to eternity ; by all which, they are influ- 
enced to live in a way of continual dependance upon him for all 
things : And this is what, in the book of Psalms and elsewhere, 
is called trusting in the Lord, waiting and leaning upon the 
Lord, making him our refuge. This tamper is expressed in 
Psal. lxxiii. 25,26... Whom have 1 in heaven but thee? And there 
is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my 



4:02 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

heart fat let h : But God is the strength of my heart, and my par- 
tionfor ever — And ver. 28.... It is good for me to draw near 
to God: I have put my trust in the Lord. — *3. It is the way of 
godly men to live under a spiritual sense of God, as the great 
Governor of the world, to whom it belongs to maintain the 
rights of the god-head, and the honor of the law; and under 
a sense of themselves as poor sinners, worthy only of destruc- 
tion, according to law and justice, and too bad to be pitied or 
to have any mercy shown them, without some sufficient salvo 
to the divine honor ; and under a sense of Christ as a Mediator 
appointed to be a propitiation for sin, to declare God's righte- 
ousness and secure the divine honor, and so open a way wherein 
God might be just and yet justify the sinner that believes in 
Jesus— even under such a living sense of these things, as that 
they are firmly believed; whereby they are influenced not to 
draw nigh to God in their own names, emboldened by their 
own goodness, but only in the name of Christ, depending en- 
tirely upon him, and emboldened only by his worth and merits, 
mediation and intercession, to look for acceptance in the sight 
of God : Hence, because of this dependance, they are said to 
pray in Christ's name.. John xvi. 23— To have access to God by 
A/w....Eph. ii* 18 — To come to God through him....Heb. vii. 25 
— To believe in God by him.. .4I. Pet. i. 21 — And are represent- 
ed as being emboldened by his worth and merits, mediation 
and intercession, to approach the Majesty of heaven.... Heb. iv. 
16, and x. 19 : And now this is called a coining to Christ.. ..John 
vii. 37 — A receiving him....John i* 12— A believing in Christ 
....John iii. 15, 16 — A believing on Christ-. <John iii. 18, 36— 
A believing in his name.. ..John L 12— And a trusting in 
Christ.. .Eph. i. 12, 13 : And this is that act of faith by which we 
are justified and entitled to life, as is evident from Rom. iii. 24, 
25, 26, where it is, by the Apostle, called faith in Christ's blood. 
The Apostle considers God as the righteous Governor of the 
world, (chap.'u 18) — all mankind a3 being guilty before God, 
(chap. iii. 9 — 19) — Christ as being set forth to be a propitiation 
for sin, (ver. 25) That God might be just and yet justify, &c. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 403 

(vcr. 26) — And affirms that we wee justified by free grace through 
the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, (ver. 24) — by faith 
without the deeds of the law (ver. 28), being considered in our- 
selves as ungodly, (chap. iv. 5) : And this justifying faith he 
calls faith in Christ's blood ; because it was principallv by the 
death of Christ that the ends of moral government were an- 
swered, and so law and justice satisfied, and a way opened for 
the honorable exercise of divine grace. But although the word 
faith be thus used in scripture in these different senses, yet we 
are to remember that these various exercises of a godly soul 
are connected together, and always concomitant with one anoth- 
cr — yea, and, in some respects, implied in each other : and per- 
haps sometimes all these actings of soul are designed by the 
word faith; nevertheless they are evidently, in their own na- 
ture, so distinct, as that they may be conceived of as distinct 
acts of the soul. And it may also be noted that the two first of 
these, viz. a firm belief of divine truths, and a hearty reliance on 
the divine all-sufficiency, are acts of faith common to angels as 
well as saints ; but the last, which immediately respects Christ 
as Mediator, is peculiar to penitent, returning sinners : The two 
first are common to every holy creature ; for all such do, in a firm 
belief of divine truths, live in an entire dependance upon God, 
the infinite fountain of all good : but the last is peculiar to sin- 
ful creatures, who, because they are sinful, need a mediator to 
make way for the honorable exercise of the divine goodness to- 
wards them. Those who never were sinners may receive all 
things, from the free grace and self-moving goodness of the di- 
vine nature, without a mediator ; but those who have been sin- 
ners perhaps will receive ail through a mediator, to eternity. 

10. A heart to love God supremely, live to him ultimately, 
and delight in him superlatively.. ..to love our neighbors as our- 
selves. ...to hate every false way. ...to be humble, meek, weaned 
from the world, heavenly-minded.. ..to be thankful for mercies 
....patient under afflictions. ...to love enemies. ...to forgive inju- 
ries, and, in all things, to do as he would be done by ; — % 
heart for all tiiis, I say, is always in exact proportion to the de- 



404 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

gree of true faith : for the same views of our own wretched- 
ness.. ..of God.. ..of Christ.. ..of the way of salvation by free 
grace through him.. ..of the glory, reality, and importance of 
divine and eternal things, which lay the foundation for true faith, 
and always accompany the exercise of faith, do, at the same time, 
lay the foundation for this divine temper : And besides, this 
divine temper is what every true believer feels to be the fittest 
and happiest thing in the world, and, as such, longs for it, and 
goes to God to have it increased and strengthened ; and, be- 
ing unworthy to go in his own name,* he goes in Christ's 
name : so that the obtaining more and more of this divine 
temper is one main end of his exercising faith in Christ : And 
whatsoever he asks the Father in Christ's name, he receives. 
God is readier to give his holy spirit to such an one, than pa- 
rents are to give bread to their children.... J o hn xvi. 23 — Mat. 
vii. 11 : and therefore every true believer does obtain the end 
of his faith ; and not only has, but grows in this divine temper, 
and is governed by it, and brings forth fruit according to it : 
and thus shoxus his faith by his works^ according to St. James's 
doctrine., ..James ii : And herein true faith stands distinguish- 
ed from all counterfeits. Never had a hypocrite a spiritual 
sense of that ineffable beauty of the divine nature, which lies at 

* Unworthy to go in bis own name. As thus, if, in prayer, I offer up this 
petition, " Lord, enable me to love thee with all my heart!" — it implies, 
(1) That I do not love God with all my heart, notwithstanding the infi- 
nite obligations I am under to do so ; for which defect I am infinitely to 
blame, and deserve an infinite punishment.... to be instantly driven from 
God's presence forever, and spurned to hell as a creature fit only for de- 
struction — (2) It implies that all the external manifestations which God 
has made of himself to me in his works and word, and all the external 
means he has used with me, are not able to win my heart wholly to God ; 
so great is my sottishness and alienation from the Deity, and love to the 
world and sin : And now, surely, such a vile wretch cannot have a thought 
of any mercy from God, on the account of any goodness in me ; yea, ra- 
ther I am too bad to be pitied, unless there be some sufficient salvo to the 
divine honor. How, therefore, can God give me the greatest of gifts, 
even the sanctifying influences of his holy spirit, but through the great 
Mediator, consistently with his honor as moral Governor of the world : 
Now, therefore, being thus unworthy to go to God in my own name, I go 
in Christ's name; as knowing that, through him, God can exercise his in- 
jinite, self-moving goodness to the vilest of creatures, consistently with his 
honor; although law and justice call for their immediate destruction, con- 
sidered as in themselves. 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 405 

the foundation of all the experiences of the true saint, and from 
whence all true holiness originally springs. The formalist 
mav, from legal fears and mercenary hopes, be so strict and 
consciencious in his ways, as to think himself a choice good 
man : and the enthusiast, from a firm persuasion of the pardon 
of his sins, and the love of Christ, may be so full of joy and 
love, zeal and devotion, as to think himself a most eminent 
saint : but there is nothing of the nature of true holiness in ei- 
ther ; for it is self and nothing but self that is the principle, 
centre, and end of all their religion : They do not believe in 
Christ, that through him they may return home to God, and 
beconsecratedtohimforever,and obtain grace to do all his will : 
They do not know God, or care for him, but are wholly taken 
up about their own interest. That Moravian maxim, a That 
salvation consists in the forgiveness of sins," exhibits the true 
picture of the heart of the best hypocrite in the world ; while 
that in II. Cor* iii. 18, is peculiar to the godly.. .JJ'e all zvith 
open face beholding, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are chan- 
ged into the same image, from glory to glory. 

11 , And lastly — In true believers there is a principle of faith, 
which abides and grows, and perseveres to the end. That spir- 
itual sense of God... of themselves. ..of Christ, and of the gos» 
pel-way of salvation through him, which lays the foundation for 
the first act of faith, becomes habitual : They have a spiritual 
understanding to discern spiritual things, (I. Cor. ii. 12) — They 
were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord ; and hence 
they are called children of the light and of the day.... ^.^\\. v. 8 — 
I. Thes. v. 5. Spiritual light does not come upon believers like 
flashes of lightning at midnight — now and then a flash, and then 
as dark as ever again ; but their light is habitual, like day-light : 
And from the first dawning of divine light at the hour of con- 
version, that day-break of heaven, their light shines more and 
y, year after year, to the perfect day. ...Prov. iv. 18 : The 
flying clouds in the day time, although they may hide the clear 
shining of the sun for a while, yet they do not make it dark as 
in the night ; yea, the thickest clouds are not able to do it. — 



406 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

Believers are never destitute of a spiritual sense of God and 
Christ, and divine things, as other men are : They are chil- 
dren of the light and of the day — and not of the night and of 
darkness : The spirit of God does not come upon them by fits, 
as it did upon Balaam ; but dwells in them, (Rom. viii. 9) — 
And they groxo in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and 
Savior Jesus Christ....!!. Pet. iii. 1 8 : If at any time they should 
have no more sense of divine things than the unregenerate, they 
would be as much without grace — they would not differ from 
the stony-ground-hearers, who fell away : And now their di- 
vine light being thus habitual, growing and persevering, hence 
their faith is so too. Through the course of their lives it is 
their way to grow more and more sensible of their sinfulness.... 
the sinfulness of sin.. ..their unworthiness, ill-desert, poverty, 
and absolute need of free grace and of Jesus Christ : And they 
also see more and more into the gospel-way of salvation.. ..the 
glory and safety of it.. ..its suitableness to exalt God, magnify 
the law, discountenance sin, humble the sinner, and glorify grace 
—and more and more come off from all self-dependance, to an 
entire reliance upon Jesus Christ, and the free grace of God 
through him ; seeking to be found not in themselves, but in 
Christ — not as having on their own righteousness, but his.... 
Phil. iii. 7, 8, 9 : They more fully approve of the law of nature 
and of the original constitution with Adam, as being holy, just, 
and good : they more fully get into a way of looking upon 
themselves as God does — as being naturally, and in themselves 
fallen, sinful, guilty, justly condemned, helpless, and undone: 
they see more and more of their infinite obligation to perfect 
holiness, and of the reasonableness of eternal damnation be- 
ing threatened for the least sin, and of the insufficiency of 
all their best doings to make any satisfaction for sin ; the 
grace of God, as revealed in the gospel, appears more 
rich, and free, and wonderful : they feel more and more of 
their need of Christ, his worth and merits, mediation and in- 
tercession ; and of their utter unfitness to approach the Majes- 
ty of heaven any other way but by him : — they feel themselves 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 407 

more full of wants, and farther off from any worthiness to re- 
ceive, and yet more and more into the temper of humble beg- 
gars, and into a way of coming to God more entirely in Christ's 
name. At first conversion such a temper begins ; and this tem- 
per grows like the mustard-seed, and spreads like the leaven, 
and is like a well of living water, which is never dry, but is 
springing up into everlasting ///£.... Mat. xiii. 31 — 33.. ..John 
iv. 14 : And thus the true believer abides in Christ, as a living 
branch does in the vine... John xv — And lives the life he lives in 
the flesh, by faith on the Son of God.. .Gal. ii. 20 — Being kept 
by the power of God, through faith, tints salvation. ..I. Pet. i. 5. 
And this is the thing (I may observe by the way) which 
makes grace in the heart more plainly discernible, and its dif- 
ference from all counterfeits more clearly manifest ; and which, 
therefore, clears up to believers the spiritual state of their souls 
....answers all doubts.. .removes all difficulties, and brings them. 
to be settled and satisfied as to their good state. Many spend 
their lives in searching whether their laxv-work was right,... 
whether their first act of faith was right, &c... But there is 
nothing like growing in grace, to put it out of doubt that we 
have grace, and to keep our evidences clear: And indeed this 
is the only way.. ..II. Pet. i. 5 — 10. 

And thus we see, in general, wherein a genuine compliance 
with the gospel does consist, and partiadarly what is the na- 
ture of a saving faith : And, from what has been said, we may 
be able to distinguish true faith from every counterfeit ; particu- 
larly, from what has been said, we may easily see the falseness 
of these two sorts of faith, whereby thousands are deceived 
and ruined. 

1. The legal hypocrite } s faith, who, being entirely devoid 
of the, divine life, and of those spiritual views of God. ..of 
himself.^of Christ, and of the way of salvation, which the 
true believer has, is only animated by self-love, the fear of 
hell, and the hope of heaven, to attend upon the external du- 
ties of religion, and to try to love God and be sincere, in hopes 
of acceptance in the sight of God, if he endeavors to do as 

3 E 



408 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

well as he can. He thinks God has promised to accept such, 
and that it would not he just for God to require more of him 
than he can do : He does not see how bad he is; he hates to 
think of lying at the mere mercy of God, and cannot endure 
the doctrine of divine sovereignty ; he is quite insensible of 
his need of free grace and of Jesus Christ : However, he says, 
he trusts wholly in the merits of Christ for eternal life, and 
does not pretend to merit any thing by all his doings : And 
thus being quieted with the hopes of heaven, he goes on in 
the rounds of duty, a stranger to real communion with God, 
and to all the exercises of the divine life. He does duties 
enough just to keep his conscience quiet, and has faith 
enough just to keep him from seeing that he rests entirely up- 
on his own righteousness: and, by the means, his duties and 
his faith serve only to keep him secure in sin, and insensible 
of his perishing need of Jesus Christ and of converting grace. 
Let me expostulate the case a little with such a one : And, 
First,, Can a man sincerely comply with the gospel, when, at 
the same time, he does not cordially approve of the law, as holy, 
just and good, seeing the gospel, in its whole constitution, is 
evidently founded upon that supposition? You do not like the 
law ; you think it is unjust. The law requires you to love God 
with all your heart, (Mat. xxii. 37.) and threatens damnation 
for the least sin, (Gal. iii. 10.) But you say it is not just for 
God to require more than you can do, and then damn you for 
not doing : but now the gospel does not mean to make void 
this law, but to* establish it.. ..Rom. iii. 31 : It would be im- 
possible, therefore, if you did but rightly understand the case, 
that you should like the gospel any better than you do the law. 
And, Secondly, Do you think that God will pardon you, when, 
at the same time, you will not acknowledge the law to be holy, 
just, and good, by which you stand condemned ? What, par- 
don you, when you justify yourself, and condemn his law ! — 
What, pardon vou, when you will not own you need a pardon ! 
Yea, when you stand to it, it would not be fair to punish you ! 
Yea, when you are ready to fly in the very face of the law and 



DISTINGUISHED JROM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 409 

of the law-giver, and to cry out, injustice, injustice! No, no, 
proud, stubborn, guilty wretch, you must come down first, 
and lie in the dust before the Lord, and approve the law in the 
very bottom of your heart, and own the sentence just by which 
you stand condemned.. ..Luke xviii. 13 — Rom, iii. 19. You 
must come down and own the law to be good, or else God 
must come down and own the law to be bad : Or, if God in- 
sists upon it that the law is holy, just and good, and you still 
insist upon it that it is not, it is impossible that God should 
pardon you, or that there should be any reconciliation : God 
must, of necessity, hate you, because you hate his law ; and you 
will forever hate God for making such a law. And, Thirdly, 
How can you pretend, all this while, to trust only in Christ for 
pardon and eternal life, when, as it is plain, from your own 
words, you see no need of Christ? For if, as you say, "God 
u cannot justly require any more of you than you can do," 
what do you want Christ for ? You can do enough yourself. 
Do you want Christ to make satisfaction for your short-com- 
ings and imperfections ? But, according to your scheme, God 
cannot require any more satisfaction than you can make your- 
self; for this would be to require more than you can do, and 
to damn you for not doing. Do you want him to purchase 
the favor of God and eternal life ? But you can do all that God 
can require ; for you can do what you can do, and that, ac- 
cording to your scheme, is all that God can require : Or, do 
you want Christ to purchase an abatement of the law ? But if 
Christ had never died, you do not think that God could, in 
justice, require more of you than you can do : What need, 
therefore, upon your scheme, was there of Christ ? And did 
he not die in vain? For if righteousness come by the laxv, then 
Christ is dead in vain...Gi\\. ii. xxi. Now, can your faith in 
Christ be any more than a mere fancy, when, as it is evident, 
you see no need of him? And, besides, Fourthly, What 
good does your faith do you ? Does it zvork by love ? Docs it 
purify your heart ? Does it overcome the world ?.„Vs J \\y, nothing 
less. It only serves to keep you secure and quiet in an unre- 



410 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

newed state, and to make you hope all is well, while you keep 
on in a round of external duties, strangers to God and the 
divine life : In a word, your duties and your faith join togeth- 
er to keep conscience asleep, and to render you insensible of 
your need of Christ and of converting grace 4. .Rom. ix< 30, 
31, 32. Oh, how sad it is, so many thousands should be de- 
ceived in so plain a case ! It can surely be attributed to nothing 
short of this, that men love darkness rather than light; they 
love to frame such a scheme of religion in their heads, as suits 
the temper of their hearts : And, because their scheme suits 
them, therefore they firmly believe it to be divine* But to 
proceed, 

2. From what has been said, we may easily see the false- 
ness of the evangelical hypocrite's faith, who, although he 
makes a much greater show, and is more confident, yet has 
not a jot better foundation : He has been greatly awakened, 
perhaps, and terrified, and seemingly brought off from his own 
righteousness, and humbled, and then has received great light 
and comfort, and has had many an hour of joy and ravishment* 
For thus was the case — -In the depth of his darkness and sor- 
row, light shined all around him ; and, to his thinking, he saw 
heaven opened, and the Lord sitting upon his throne, and 
Christ at his right hand, and heard those words, Come, ye bles- 
sed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from 
the foundation of the world: Be of good cheer, thy sins are 
forgiven: Fear not, little flock ^ it is my Father's good pleasure 
to give you the kingdom* Oh, thou afflicted, tossed with tempests, 
and not comforted, behold, J will lay thy stones with fair color s^ 
&c. — -Or, it may be, he saw Christ on the cross, with his 
blood running from his side, and hands and feet ; or, perhaps 
he saw a light in his chamber : It may be, he had one scrip* 
ture, and, it may be, ten or twenty going, until he was as full as 
he could hold, and even ready to cry, Lord, stay thy hand: 
As to all these things, there is an endless variety — but 5 in the 
following particulars, there is a greater agreement. (!•) They 
have a discovery of Christ's love to them in particular — that 



©ISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 411 

he died for them in particular — that their sins are pardoned, &c. 
(2.) The essence of their first act of faith consists in a firm 
persuasion that their sins are forgiven — that Christ died for 
them in particular, or the like. (3.) All their after-discove- 
ries and after-acts of faith are of the same nature with the 
first. (4.) This faith, from a principle of self-love, naturally 
fills them full of joy, and love, and zeal, and lays the founda- 
tion of all their good frames, and of all their religion. (5.) 
Doubting the goodness of their state, when they are dead and 
carnal, is, in their account, unbelief, and a great sin, and to be 
watched and prayed against, as a thing of the most destructive 
tendency. Now, some, who have a few discoveries, do, in a 
few months, lose all their religion, and come to feel and live 
much like the rest of the world: Others hold out longer. — 
Some, after they have lain dead one, two, three, five or ten 
vears, just as it happens, will have what they call a new dis- 
covery, and be as full as ever— while others continue in their 
irreligious courses. 

And here I may observe — >(1.) That the greater discoveries 
(as they call them) they have, the more proud and conceited 
they are, and the more do they want to have all the town admire 
them. — (2.) The longer they continue to be lively, the more 
do they grow in pride and self-righteousness ; and feeling 
themselves to be exceedingly good, they are emboldened to 
make very free with the Almighty, as being his peculiar favor- 
ites, and the best of men ; God z I thank thee, I am not as ether 
men. — -(3.) And yet it is natural to esteem themselves some 
of the most humble creatures in the world. — (4.) It is impos- 
sible to convince them of their error ; because the immediate 
witness of the spirit of God, as they think, assures them that 
they are right : and, therefore, all who do not look upon things 
and feel just as they do, are certainly blind and carnal, and ho 
not to be regarded : they are bound to believe God before 
man. Urge scripture against them, and they are unmo\ 
because the spirit does not tell them that it means so : The 
plainest texts are not regarded, if contrary to their spirit. Urge 



412 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

reason against them, and demonstrate a point ever so clearly, 
and they are unmoved -, because that is all carnal reasvn. Take 
much pains with them, and be ever so kind and friendly, and 
they are the more established ; because they think they are 
persecuted: Or, if they are sometimes shocked, and almost 
conviscedi yet they are, in a few days, more settled than ever, 
by a new discovery, and a multitude of scriptures, misapplied 
by the prince of darkness, assuring them that they are right. 
And now they resolve never to doubt again, and get invincibly 
set in their way. — (5.) If, after awhile, they lose all their reli- 
gion, and are dead, and lie dead for whole months and years 
together, yet still they are as confident as ever : " For," say 
they, u David, and Solomon, and Peter fell, and the best are 
" dead sometimes ; and how long a good man may lie dead 
" none can tell : God may leave his children out of sovereign- 
" ty, and without Christ we can do nothing ; we must wait for 
" the spirit, and not call God's faithfulness into question, bc- 
u cause of our deadness — as if his faithfulness depended upon 
u our good frames." And so now, having, as they suppose, 
Christ to pardon their sins, and save their souls, and some lust 
to content their hearts, they sleep on secure and quiet ; Or, 
if they are terrified at any time, and begin to doubt, thou of 
little-faith, wherefore dost thou doubt P or some such scripture, 
will quiet and hush ail to sleep again : And thus, and after this 
sort, things go with them. And now out of such rotten hearts 
grow up all the Antinomian, Familistic, and Quakerish errors 
which have troubled the christian church : For they get their 
principles of religion, not out of the Bible, but out of their ex* 
periences ; and are careful to cut out a scheme in their heads, 
to suit the religion of their hearts : and because it suits them, 
therefore they firmly believe it. And because their scheme is 
not rational, and cannot bear to be examined by reason, there- 
fore they cry down reason, and say it is carnal : And they cry 
down human learning ; and the more ignorant, the more de- 
vout. And because their scheme is not contained in the scrip- 
tures, therefore they have no regard to the plain vieaning of 



DISTINGUISHED mOM ALL COUNTERFEITS, 413- 

scripture, but turn all into allegories, and what they call the 
spiritual meaning ; and so run into an hundred whims, Such as 
best suit the temper of their hearts. 

Now the great misery of this sort of hypocrites is, that not- 
withstanding all their terrors, yet they were never thoroughly- 
convinced of their fallen, sinful, guilty, undone state by nature : 
and, notwithstanding all their discoveries, yet they are st 
spiritually blind, and neither know God, nor themselves, nor 
Christ, nor the gospel-way of salvation by free grace through 
him: and, notwithstanding all their confidence, and joy, and 
high religious frames, yet they are as destitute of faith, repent- 
ance, and holiness, as ever they were : And it is a lie, v.t 
the father of lies has made them believe — which lies at the bot- 
tom of all their religion, and is the very foundation of it all. 
All their purest joy, and love, and zeal, arise from their faith : 
All their faith consists in believing that their sins are forgiven: 
And all the foundation which their faith is originallv built up- 
on,' is an immediate revelation — the truth of which thev dare 
not call in question, for fear of giving the lie to the holy spirit, 
from whom, they say, they know it came. But how could the 
spirit of God reveal it to them, that Christ loved them, a. 
their sins were forgiven, and hereby lay the foundation fur th 
first act of faith, whenas, before the first act of faith, they v 
actually under conde;;ination...the xvrath of God, and the curse of 
the law ?...John iii. 18, 36 — Gal. ill . 10. The thing reveaU d 
to them was not true ; and therefore was not from God, bu| 
from the devil. Now this false revelation laid the foundation 
for their faith, and their faith laid the foundation for their joy, 
and for all their religion. A spiritual sight and divine sense 
of the great truths presupposed and revealed in the gospel, is 
the foundation of the godly man's faith and holiness ; but a par- 
ticular thing, no where revealed in the Bible, is their founda- 
tion — yea, & falsehood tit&Lt is directly contrary to what the scrip- 
tures plainly teach : And yet, alas, they know they are right ; 
they are, they say, as certain of it as they are of their own ex- 
istence. Kow great is the power of delusion ! How awful is 



414 TRUE E.ELIGI0N DELINEATED, AND 

the case of a poor creature forsaken of God ! II. Thes. ii. 10, 
11, 12. ..»They received not the love of the truth, that they might 
be saved : And, for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion,, 
that they should believe a lie... .That they all might be damned, 
xvho believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness^ 
— But to conclude, 

From what has been said concerning the nature of a true 
faith and a genuine compliance with the gospel, we may not 
only see the falseness of these two sorts of faith, but also of all 
other counterfeits, which are almost in an endless variety : 
For, between these two extremes of a legal and evangelical ^ hyp- 
ocrite, there lie a thousand bye-paths, in which poor sinners 
wander to everlasting perdition ; in the mean w T hile, blessing 
themselves that they are neither Arminians nor Antinomians, 
nor deluded as such and such are — although they neither know 
God, nor themselves, nor Christ, nor the way of salvation 
through him ; and really are as destitute of faith, repentance, 
and holiness, as the most deluded creature in the world. 

SECTION VIII. 
SHOWTNG WHAT IS IMPLIED IN THE EVERLASTING LIFE 
PROMISED TO BELIEVERS, AND HOW FAITH INTERESTS U£ 
IN CKR.IST. 

I am now, in the last place, 

V. To consider the promise of everlasting life, which is, in. 
the gospel, made to true believers. God so loved the -world, that 
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him 
shoiddnot perish, but have everlasting life. In this ever- 
lasting life is implied, 

1. The everlasting love and favor of God. Whereas, by the 
disobedience of one, many were made sinners, and judgment came 
upon all to condemnation, by virtue of the original constitution 
with Adam, {Rom. v. 18, 19,) — and whereas, by and according 
to the law of nature, the whole world stands guilty before God, 
(Rom. iii. 19,) — Now, by virtue of a new constitution, estab- 
lished by the God of heaven, the great Governor of the world, 
called the gospel, or covenant of grace, it is appointed, and, as 






DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 415 

it were, confirmed by the broad seal of heaven, that any, who- 
soever they are, among all the guilty race of Adam, who fall in 
with this gospel-proposal, and venture their all upon this new 
plan.. ..this new foundation.. ..this precious corner-stone, Jesus 
Christ, the great Mediator between God and man, shall thence- 
forth stand free from that double condemnation, and be entitled 
unto the everlasting love and favor of God, the great Governor 
of the world. John iii. 18 — Rom. v. 1, 2. ...Therefore, being 
justified by faiths we have peace witii God, through our Lord 
y ems Christ : By whom also rue have access by faith into this 
grace wherein ive standi and rejoice in hope of the glory of God* 

2. The other part of this everlasting life consists in and re- 
sults from the everlasting indwelling of the holy spirit as a sane- 
tifer. This, which Adam lost by the fall, is, upon our union 
with Christ, the second Adam, by virtue of this new constitu- 
tion, restored, never to be lost any more. John vii. S8...2& 
that bclieveth on me, as the scripture saith, out of hi;; belly & 
flow rivers of living water. Ver. 39... This spake he of the spirit^ 
zvhich they that believe on him should receive : And therefore 
the gift of the holy ghost is, by the Apostles, (Acts'ii. 32.) 
promised upon the condition of faith:* And, therefore, as 
God did, of old, dwell in the holy of holies in the Jewish 
temple, in the cloud of glory, so now, henceforth, does he 
dwell in the believers heart by his holy spirit, as a vital prin- 
ciple and spring of divine life there. ..John xv. 1 — 5 : Aik. 
believers are called the temple of God.. .1. Cor. iii. 17. 1 
spirit of God is said to dwell in them, (Rom. viii. 9) — to U 
them, (ver. 14) — to give them an everlasting freedom from the 
power of sin, (ver. 2) : so that sin shall not have dominion c 

* From the nature of justifying faith, it is evident that regent 
be prior to the Jirst act of it; buc although the sinner be r 
gr?.cious influences of the holy spirit before faith, yet it is 
union with Christ that the soul has a co to the indwelling of 

the holy spirit; which covenant-right lays a foundation for the im 
of the holy spirit to be constant and everlasting; and this 1. 
f v r an abiding principle and proper bubiiot' grace : So 1 
eration be before faith, yejt a confirmed habit of grace uks, 

from our union with Christ... .yohn xv. 1 — 5 : And is in scripture ur^n. 
a the condition of faith.... John \ . 24. -j.nd vii . 

3 F 



416 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

them. ...Rom. vi. 14: And the water (says Christ) which Iwill 
give you, shall be in you a well of water springing up into ever- 
lasting life..., John iv. 14. 

It is plain, from the whole tenor of the gospel, that the ever* 
lasting love and favor of God, together with the everlasting in- 
dwelling of the holy spirit as a sanctifer, which are the two 
great things which a poor sinner wants, are the two great things 
promised in the covenant of grace. St. Paul, having explained 
the nature of the gospel-way of salvation by free grace through 
Jesus Christ, and shown that faith is the only condition of the 
new covenant, in the four first chapters of his epistle to the Ro- 
mans, proceeds to show the benefits accruing to believers. — 
And fir st, they are justified, and have peace with God, (chap, v.) 
Secondly, they are delivered from the power of sin, (chap, vi.) 
And although they are, in this life, continually in a state of 
spiritual conflict and warfare, (chap, vii.) yet they are influen- 
ced, and led, and governed by the spirit of God, which dwells 
in them, (chap, viii.) And now all things shall work for their 
good, and they shall be brought to glory at last, (ver. 28 — 39.) 
So again, see both these summed up in Heb. viii. 10, 11, 12.... 
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel 
after those days, saithjhe Lord : I will put my laws into their 
mind, and write them in their hearts : And Iwill be to them a 
God, and they shall be to me a people : And they shall not teach 
every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Knoxv 
the Lord ; for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. — 
Here is the everlasting indwelling of the holy spirit, together 
with what results therefrom : For Iwill be merc'fxi unto their 
unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remem- 
ber no more. ...ver. 12. And here is the everlasting love and 
favor of God. 

And now, seeing, by this new constitution... this covenant of 
grace, true believers are thus entitled to the everlasting love 
and favor of God, and to the everlasting indwelling of the holy 
spirit, as sanctifier, in the perfect enjoyment of both which, 
denial life, in heaven, will consist ; hence, therefore, they are 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 417 

said to have life, yea, to have eternal life, immediately upon their 
believing in Christ. I. John v. 12.... He that hath the Syn^ hath 
life — John ir. ov.... He that believeth on the Son hath zvlr- 

J.ASTIXG LIFE John V. 2\....Hath EVERLASTING LIFE, and 

shall not come into condemnation ,- but is passed from death unto 
life — John xvii. 3. ...This is life eternal, that they might 
know thee, the only true God, and jfesus Christ whom thou hast 
sent. Eternal life is begun in them, and heaven begins to 
dasvn in their souls : And believers, being thus made the sub- 
jects of the everlasting love and favor of God, and of the ever- 
lasting indwelling of the holy spirit, are hence called the chil- 
dren of God..,. John i. 12 : For God loves them as children, and 
they love him as a Father : And this filial frame of spirit, 
whereby they are disposed to reverence, fear, love, trust in, and 
obey God as a Father. ...live upon him, and live to him as a 
Father ; — I say, this filial frame of spirit is called the spirit of 
adoption, in opposition to that servile frame of spirit they used 
to be under the bondage of, before faith, and before they had 
received the Holy Ghost. Rom. viii. 15. ...For ye have not re- 
ceived the spirit of bondage again to fear ; but ye have receh 
the spirit of adoption, vohereby rue cry, Abba, Father. 

And this filial frame of spirit being peculiar to believers.... 
that which none but believers have, and which yet is common 
to all believers ; and this filial frame of spirit being that where- 
in believers bear the image of their heavenly Father, each one 
resembling the children of a King ; for they view things, ac- 
cording to their measure, as God does, and love what God loves, 
and make his interest their interest, and are taken up with the 
same designs ; — I say, this filial frame of spirit being such a 

iar and remarkable thing, and that wherein they so Dearly 
resemble God, and being also the immediate product of the in- 
dwelling and influence of the holy spirit, therefore, in scriptur J, 
it is spoken of as the disti of a true believer.... 

as a mc reby God's children and Christ's sheep ar< 

known . This is what is called the seal of the spirit, in 1 
13. And this seal h the witness^ i^roof which 



418 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

the holy spirit gives to our consciences, that we are the children 
of God... .Rom. viii. 16. This filial frame of spirit is what sat- 
isfies and assures the children of God, They feel the very 
temper of children towards God : They feel a heart to rever- 
ence and fear, love and honor him as a Father — a heart to go 
to him. ...to trust in him. ...to be in subjection to him, and obey 
him as a Father : And by this they know they are his chil- 
dren. 

Marvellous is the change which the poor sinner passes 
through in that awful hour of inexpressible solemnity, when he 
first comes into the awful presence of the dread Majesty of 
heaven and earth, through Jesus Christ, the glorious Mediator, 
venturing his all for eternity upon this sure foundation* 
And now, from this time forward, he is quite another creature, 
under quite new circumstances : As when orphan children, left 
without a guardian or a guide, from running into riot and indul- 
ging themselves in all extravagances, are taken and brought into 
the family of a wise and good man, who makes them his children 
....instills new principles and a new temper into them, and puts 
them under a new discipline, by whxh all things become nexvX.6 
them — -so, here, from being without God and without hope hi 
the world, and from running to eternal ruin, we are taken and 
brought into God's family.... have a new temper given to us.... 
have a new father, and are under a new government. God's 
fatherly eye is upon us every hour, and he is daily laboring to 
bring us up to his hand. ...to train us up to his mind. ...to make 
us such as he would have us be. He contrives, and takes all 
manner of ways, by his spirit, and by his providence, and by 
his word, to make us more serious, spiritual, and heavenly.... 
more humble, weaned from the world, and devoted to God. 
And thus he purgeih Us, that we may bring forth more fruit.... 
John xv. 2 : He enlightens. ..he leads. ..he teaches.. ..he quick- 
ens., .he strengihens....he comforts us....Heb. viii. 10, 11, 12 — 
/ - *. 40, 31 : When we want it, he instructs us... I. John 2. 27 
: — James i. S : When we want it, he corrects us....Heb. xii. 6: 
And when we need it, he encourages and comforts us.. .II. Cor. 



DISTINGUISHED PROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 419 

xii. 9. When we love him and keep his commands, he man- 
ifests himself unto us. ...John xiv. 21 : And when our spiritu- 
al enemies are too strong for us, and our heart and our strength 
fail, our steps are slipping, our feet just gone — in the distress- 
ing juncture he puts underneath his everlasting arms. ...he takes 
-us by the right h.md....he prevents us by his grace ; and before- 
we are aware, we have gotten the victory, and begin to say, Whom 
have xue in heaven but thee? And there is none en earth xve desire 
besides thee. Our fiesh and our heart faileth ; but God is the 
strength of our heart, and our portion forever \: And O, It is 
good fonts to drazv near to Gg</.... Psalm lxxiii : And if at any- 
time we forsake him, he follows after us, and visits our trans* 
gressions with the rod, and our iniquities with stripes ; but nev- 
er breaks his covenant with us*... Psalm lxxxix. 30 — 34. He 
hedges up our way with thorns, and brings us to a hearty return 
....Hos. ii. 6,7 : And thus we are kept by the power ofGod y 
through faith, unto salvation.... 1. Pet, i. 5 — and finally are 
brought to the full vision and perfect fruition of God to all eter- 
nity.... Rom. villi 30. 

Now faith in Christ entitles us to all this, by virtue of that 
divine constitution which we call the gospel, or covenant of 
grace — by virtue of that new and living way of salvation which 
God, the great Governor of the world, has contrived and pro- 
vided, ratified and confirmed, the sum of which is contained 
in John iii. 16 — Which constitution God has been pleased to 
confirm by an oath, to the intent we might have strong conso- 
lation, who have fed for refuge, to lay hold on the hope set be- 
fire us. He has said, He that believeth shall be saved, and he 
has confirmed it by an oath, to remove all doubt, and to give 
the highest possible assurance.... Heb. vj. 17, 18. And now, 
being assured that this way of salvation maybe depended upon, 
as being contrived and confirmed by God himself ; hence, here 
we rest secure and safe We know that this new constitution 
must be from God, because the whole plan is altogether divine : 
it is just like God : God cannot but be pleased with it : it is 
perfectly suited to exalt God... .to magnify the law ....to cl:. - 



420 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

countenance*sln.... to humble the sinner, and to glorify grace : 
and if sinners are ever saved, it is infinitely fit that they should 
be saved in such a way, and in no other. There is such an ap- 
parent resemblance of the divine nature and perfections in this 
whole plan, as is sufficient to assure the heart that it is from 
God. None but God could be the author of it... .II. Cor. iv, 
3, 4, 6 : And being, in the fr%st place, assured that it is from 
God, we have, in the second place, the highest assurance that 
God will abide by it, and act according to it : For, first, we 
have his promise; and secondly, we have his oath : So that 
there can be no reasonable doubt remaining. And now, upon 
this foundation, does the true believer build all his hopes and 
expectations — here is the bottom of all : For if I am assured 
that, by divine grace, I do rightly understand the gospel, and 
am brought to a genuine compliance therewith, now, then, I 
am safe, if the gospel be true, and if that way of salvation may 
certainly be depended on — if it be no cunningly devised fa- 
ble, but a way of God's own contrivance, and which he will 
certainly abide by. A clear, rational, spiritual conviction 
and assurance of this, is the very anchor of the soul, sure and 
stedfa8t....Heb. vi. 19. 

If mankind had remained in a state of pure nature, i. e. un- 
der no constitution at ail*... under nothing but merely thelavo of 
nature, i. e. to have been guided and directed to their duty, 
and to have been rewarded or punished by God, only and mere- 
ly by and according to the reason and nature of things — if this 
had been the case, then, so long as every individual should be 
continued in being by God, and should continue to love God 
with all his heart, and obey him in every thing, so long every 
individual would be perfectly happy : But then, God might, 
without injustice, let one or all drop into non-existence, if he 
pleased, and when he pleased, although perfectly holy.. .jtobxx'u. 
2, and xxxv. 7 : Or, if he wa3 pleased to continue one and all 
in being forever, yet, at what time soever any should commit 
thgjlcast sin, that soul should immediately sink down into an 
eternal tedL.*.R.asL vi. 23 — a thousand years of perfect obe- 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 421 

dicnce, by the mere law of nature, not entitling to any 
promise for the time to come. God's giving and continuing 
being to us, and granting us advantages to know, and love, and 
serve him, would render us infinitely indebted to God ; but 
cur knowing, loving, and serving God could not bring him at 
all into debt to ua..J.Re77U xi. 35, 36. Our doing so would 
naturally render us happy, so long as we should continue to do 
so ; but if, at any time, we should be guilty of the least defect, 
all would be lost, and we undone forever. 

But then, by and according to the constitution with Adam, 
things were placed upon another footing. The eternal welfare 
of mankind was suspended upon another condition : for, accord- 
ing to this constitution, if Adam, the public head and repre- 
sentative of mankind, had remained obedient for some certain 
period of time, he and all his posterity would, by the free and 
gracious promise of God, have been entitled to everlasting life ; 
as, on the other hand, if he sinned, all would be exposed to 
eternal death. But now, FAITH in Christ entitles us to eternal 
life, by virtue of a new constitution, called the gospel, or cove- 
nant of grace, made and confirmed by the God of heaven. 

The perfect obedience of Adam, had he stood, would not 
have entitled us to eternal life, notwithstanding he was cur nat- 
ural head, if he had not been made our representative by a di- 
vine constitution : so the perfect obedience and sufferings of 
Christ would not have freed us from condemnation and enti- 
tled us to eternal life, whatever dependance we might have had 
upon him, if, by a divine constitution, it had not been appoint- 
ed and confimed that he that believeth shall be saved. 

By and according to thelcav of nature, our own personal obe- 
dience would have recommended us to the favor of God, and 
laid the foundation of our happiness, so long as we should have 
continued in a state of sinless perfection. — By the first cove- 
nant, the constitution with Adam, his perfect obedience, through 
his appointed time of trial, would, by virtue of that constitu- 
tion or covenant, have entitled us to everlasting life. — By thes 
end covenant, the perfect righteousness of Christ, the sccznd Ad- 



422 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

am, entitles all true believers to everlasting life, by and accor- 
ding to this new and living way. 

A perfect righteousness was necessary according to the law 
of nature ; and a perfect righteousness is insisted upon in both 
covenants. According to the law of nature, it was to be per- 
formed personally; but, according to both covenants, it is ap- 
pointed to be performed by a public head. — According to the 
first covenant, we were to have been interested in the right- 
eousness of our public head, by virtue of our union to him as 
his posterity, for whom he was appointed to act. — According 
to the second covenant, we are interested in the rigteousness of 
Christ, our public head, by virtue of our union to him by faith. 

Our faith is that whereby we unite to Christ ; — the act is an 
uniting act. We disunite, separate from, and renounce that 
to which we before were united, and did close with, and placed 
our hopes upoa, viz. our own righteousness — and are no more 
emboldened by that, to come into the presence of God : And 
we unite to Christ, desiring to be found, not in ourselves, but 
in him — not in our own righteousness, but in his....P/ji/. iii. 8, 
9 : And from him we take encouragement to draw nigh to 
God ; we come in his name....^. iv. 16. And now, by 
virtue of a divine constitution, established by the Governor of 
the world, all, who thus unite to Christ by faith, are considered 
as being one with him, so as to have an interest in what he has 
done and suffered in the character of a Mediator, as a public 
person, so as, upon the account thereof, to be pardoned, and 
received to favor, and entitled to eternal Ilk. ...Ro?n. v. 18, 19 
— Eph. i. 6 — Rom. iii. 24, 25. , 

And now, this faith.. ..this uniting act, being the condition, 
the only condition, required on our part, by the covenant of 
grace, we being justified by faith without the deeds of the lazv, 
hence faith is said to be imputed 'to us for righteousness. ...Rom. 
iv — for righteousness, i. e. for that whereby we stand right 
according to the tenor of the new covenant, i. e. for d.fu/1 com- 
hjmnce with the condition of the new covenant. As perfect 
obedience was a compliance with the covenant of works, so faith 



DIS FROM ALL COV\ 7 I7.TEIT5. M 

is a comp liance of the covenant of grace. Now, as perfect 
Obedier rough h". - of trials would have been 

:uted to Adam for righteous: , e. for ajhtt compliance 

h the ccnd: riant; so new faith is imputed 

for itsness, i. e. for a full compliance with the condition 

rftl errant: For S:. Pad had butjust been proving that 

we are justified 'by faith al 

and now this being the only condition required, therefore he 

e with I ant 

— :. e. it is imputed j\ trig the tmhf thing 

required as a at of grace, hence 

oked a in the sight of God acct 5 being 

:liance :. The covenant of works 

i upon perfec; Adain v.- as to h. 

been justified merely by, ar 

own virtue and goodness : And the .- cf grace ini 

upon faith alone, without the deeds of the Urw^ because now we 
are justified, merely by, and wholly 1 be account of, Christ's 

: ae or righteousne :hout regard to any goodness in 

But to him that won:. :m that ; 

eih the uxgodlv, his faith is count z. ^Rom. 

' — . :-.: ; /.the new covenant, with* 

cut the deeds of the la~ hteousti rist 

\e end of the Icr : them that belie*::.... Rom. 

7:. 5 : Ar.d.ir. that sense, we are not to be found in our own 
righteousness, but in his.... Phi. 

Thus, according to the law of nature, even- man would have 

been justified by h :ss : and accord- 

:he first covenant, ever}' child of Adam would have 

been justified by Adam's righteousness, as public head: and 

according to the second covenant, every believer is to be ju 

fied by Ch .ghteo; as another pu ad. T 

first of these ways takes m the reason and nature of 

ad and third from the r.tment 

of God. The angels, it seems, were dealt with accord ; 

the first c: . :/ — .' . heir state of prohaticn, through 

- G 



424 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

grace, not to be perpetual ; for, no doubt, those that stood are 
now in a confirmed state : but mankind are dealt with accord- 
ing to the second and third. 

The first of these ways a fallen world pretend some liking to ; 
but the other two have given great offence. " How is it right 
iC we should be condemned for Adam's sin ? Or with what 
44 propriety can we be justified on the account of Christ's right- 
" eousness ?" is the language of very many. " It is unjust to 
" condemn me for the sin of another, and absurd to justify me 
" for another's righteousness," say they. And as to the first 
of these ways, they would have the law abated in what it re- 
quires, and quite disannulled as to its threatening death for the 
least sin : They would have what they call sincere obedience 
admitted as a condition of life, and repentance to be accepted 
in case of sin : so that an apostate world are naturally equally 
at enmity against the first, second,and third, rightly understood : 
For they think it full as unjust that God should damn us for 
the least defect of perfect obedience, as for Adam's first sin. 
And it is nothing but divine light can bring the heart of a sin- 
ner sincerely to approve of the law of nature, of the constitu- 
tion with Adam, and of the gospel with Christ : For, (I. Cor. 
ii. 14) the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of 
God : for they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he know 
them, because they are spiritually discerned. He does not dis- 
cern the ground and reason of the law of nature, being blind to 
the infinite beauty of the divine perfections : and so is incapa- 
citated to have a right view and sense of the nature of the first 
covenant or the second. And being a stranger and an enemy 
to God, he also naturally doubts whether he has full power and 
rightful authority to make such constitutions : he dislikes the 
constitutions — he questions God's authority to make such : 
their being so plainly held forth in the Bible, tempts many to 
call even the truth of that into question ; and some are driven 
quite to open infidelity. 

There is a secret infidelity in the hearts of unregenerate 
men. They do not love that divine scheme of truths revealed 



I 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 425 

in the Bible, nor cordially receive it for true. Men love to cut 
out a scheme of religion in their heads, to suit the temper of 
their hearts : And from this root do all the false and errone- 
ous principles which fill the christian world originally take their 
rise, (II. Thess. ii. 10,11, 12) : But when he that command- 
ed the light to shine out of darkness shines in the heart, and 
gives spiritual light, then the reasonableness, beauty, and glory 
of the whole scheme appear, and the very resemblance ef the 
divine perfections is to be seen in every branch of it : and now 
it is cordially believed, (John viii. 47) : And hereby a solid 
foundation is laid for a real conformity to the law, and a genu- 
ine compliance with the gospel ; in both which true religion 
does consist. 

Thus we have gone through what was proposed : And we 
see why God, the great Governor of the world, did consider 
mankind as perishing, fallen, sinful, guilty, justly condemned, 
helpless, and undone : and we see that his design of mercy 
originally took its rise from the mere self-moving goodness of 
his nature, and sovereign good pleasure : and we see the ne- 
cessity there was of a Mediator^ and how the way of life has 
been opened by him whom God has provided : and we see 
wherein a genuine compliance with the gospel does consist, 
and the nature of a true faith in Christ : and we see what is im- 
plied in the everlasting life that is promised to believers, and 
how faith interests us in the promise, and how that the covenant 
is, in all things, well ordered and sure. And now there is a wide 
field opened for a large improvement, in many doctrinal and 
practical inferences and remarks. For, 

1. It is very natural to make the same observations here, 
with regard to a genuine compliance with the gospel, as were 
before made with respect to a real conformity to the lazv : for, 
from what has been said, we may easily see wherein consists 
that life of faith in Christ, which true believers live — that all 
unregenerate men are entirely destitute of this true faith in 
Christ ; yea, diametrically opposite thereunto in the temper of 
their minds, and therefore cannot be brought to it but by the- 



426 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, AND 

almighty power and all-conquering grace of God — that there is 
nothing in them to move God to do this for them, but every 
thing to the contrary — that God is at perfect liberty to have 
mercy on whom he will, according to his sovereign pleasure — 
that it is reasonable to think that the same sovereign good pleas- 
ure, which moves him to be the author, will move him to be 
the finisher of our faith — that true faith, being thus specifical- 
ly different from every counterfeit, may therefore be discerned 
and known, &c. But because I have already been larger than 
at first I designed, therefore I will omit these, and all other re- 
marks which might be made ; and will conclude, 

2. With only this one observation, viz. That if these things 
be true, which have been said concerning the nature of faith 
and the way of salvation by free grace through Christ, and con- 
cerning that view of things which the true believer has, then no- 
thing is more plain and evident than that the true believer must 
needs feel himself to be under the strongest obligations possible 
to an entire devotedness to God, and a life of universal holiness. 
Every thing meets, in that view of things which he has, to bincj 
his soul forever to the Lord. One main design of the gospel 
was to make men holy ; and it is, in its nature, perfectly well 
adapted to answer the end : For now all the natural obligations 
we are under to love God and live to him, are seen in a divine 
light ; such as arise from the infinite excellence of the divine 
nature.. ..God's entire right to us and authority over us : and 
their binding nature is exhibited in a more striking and affect- 
ing manner in the gospel than in the law ; — the cross of Christ 
gives a more lively representation of the infinite evil of sin than 
all the thunders of Mount Sinai : and a sight of our natural 
obligations are attended with a sense of all the additional sa- 
cred ties, arising from the infinite goodness of God to a guilty, 
ruined world, in providing a Savior.. ..from the dying love of 
Christ... .from the free gift of converting grace. ...from pardon- 
ing mercy.. ..from God's covenant love and faithfulness, and 
from the raised expectations of eternal glory ; — all which must 
join to beget a right sense of sin, as being a thing, in itself, th« 



DISTINGUISHED FROM ALL COUNTERFEITS. 42T 

most unfit, unreasonable and wicked, as well as infinitely disin- 
genuous and ungrateful to God, and concur to make it appear 
as the worst of evils... .the most to be hated, dreaded, watched, 
and prayed against ; And a humble heart, full of self-diffidence, 
and under a sense of the divine all-sufficiency, and in a firm 
belief of the truth of the gospel, will irr -;fc naturally, and, as it 
were, continually apply itself, by faith and prayer, to God 
through Christ, to be kept from all sin, and to be preserved to 
the heavenly kingdom : so that those views which the true be- 
liever has, have the strongest tendency to universal holiness, 
and do naturally lay a solid foundation for it. And those views 
are not only maintained in a greater or less degree, from day 
to day, by the gracious influence of the holy spirit, which dwells 
in them ; but are increasing and brightening through the course 
of their lives : so that as the grand design of the gospel is to 
make men holy, so it is pefectly w T ell adapted, in its nature, 
to answer the end : And therefore he that is born of God sin- 
neth not ; and how shall we, that are dead to sin, live any lon- 
ger therein ? And such like scriptures must, in the nature of 
things,be found tobe true, in the experienceof every real believer. 
Nor can any but graceless hypocrites be emboldened, by the 
doctrines of free grace, to sin, as it were, upon free cost ; and 
a double vengeance will they pull down upon their guilty heads. 
Particularly, the whole frame and tenor of the gospel natu- 
rally tends to excite us to an universal benevolence to mankind, 
in imitation of the infinite goodness of the divine nature — and 
even to be benevolent and kind to the evil and unthankful, and 
to those in whom there is no motive to excite our good will, 
but much to the contrary — and to love our enemies, and bless 
them that curse us, and do good to them that hate us, and pray 
for them that despitefuliy use us and persecute us. It is im- 
possible, when we see the infinite beauty of the self-moving 
goodness of the divine nature, as exercised in the whole ailair 
of our redemption and salvation, towards creatures so infinite- 
ly vile, unworthy and ill-deserving, but that we should love that 
glorious goodness, and be changed into the same image, and 



428 TRUE RELIGION DELINEATED, &C. 

have it become natural to us to love enemies, and forgive 
injuries, and be like God. A malicious christian, a spiteful be- 
liever, is the greatest contradiction and the most unnatural thing. 

That which has had no small hand in bringing the doctrines 
of grace into contempt in the world, as tending to licentiousness, 
is partly because they have not been rightly understood, and 
partly through the wicked lives of graceless hypocrites, who 
h Lve made a high profession. What remains now, therefore, 
but that the people of God, by holy and exemplary lives, should 
convince the world that these are doctrines according to godli- 
ness ? 

I beseech you, therefore, by the mercies of God, that ye present 
yourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which 
is your reasonable service : for you are not your oxvn, but bought 
with a price — and that not of silver and gold, but of the precious 
blood of the Son of God; and therefore live no more to yourselves^ 
but to him that died for you : And be ye followers of God as dear 
children. Blessed be God for the unspeakable gift of his Son* 
Amen. 



THE END, 



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